The Knightingale Begins
by Calla Mae
Summary: What if Bruce Wayne had a sister? Would she be able to save him from the anger that threatens to destroy him, that threatens to destroy others? What happens when the man her brother thought he could trust tries to destroy her? How far would Bruce go to save her, how far would he go to seek vengeance?
1. A Prince and His Princess

Bruce stared down at the baby his mother had just come home with. He had been feeling his little sister move inside of his mother's stomach for so long he was happy she was finally here.

"I thought she was supposed to look more like a baby."

"What do you mean, Bruce?" his mother asked him with a slight smile.

"She looks like a bird," both Martha and Thomas laughed while Bruce just stared down at the tiny little person in his mother's arms.

"Would you like to hold her?" His mother patted the space beside her on the couch and he sat holding out his arms as his mother placed the baby in them. "You have to make sure you hold her head up" his mother said moving his arm so his sister's head was resting on it. His other arm was wrapped around her front, keeping her protected against him. He stared down at her pink squished looking face and smiled. She stared up at him with her bright blue eyes and her toothless pink gums showing. She raised her tiny hand up and her little fingers brushed against his face as she made gurgling noises. She would be the best little sister ever, he just knew it. He looked at his mother, "Can I call her Evan?"

"Oh Tom isn't that just precious, our little Evan."

The Wayne's were sitting four people away from the end of the row as they watched the opera. Bruce and his father were dressed in their nicest suits, and his mother was in her black dress wearing the pearls his grandmother had given her. When his parents told him they were going to the opera he had whined at first saying it would be boring. But when his parents said he had to go he begged them to bring Evan too. Alfred would play opera music sometimes while he cleaned and Evan would sit quietly listening in awe. To prove that she wouldn't fuss he asked Alfred to turn on some of the music and sure enough Evan, who had been cooing at her toys, settled down and stared around with wide eyes. The song lasted for eight minutes, and his parents agreed she could come when she sat quietly the whole time.

Evan was sitting chewing on her pink teething ring in their mother's lap enraptured by what was happening on the stage. Martha's gaze would only leave the stage when she wiped some of the drool dripping from her daughter's mouth. Evan was wearing a small white dress and little black shoes. Bruce sat in between his parents and he started shrinking down in his seat when the man on stage came out dressed as a bat. He still remembered falling in the well and hearing all of the noises that had scared him. What had really scared him was seeing all the beady eyes staring at him, and how fast they moved as they flew away. He had thought one of them was going to snatch him for sure, but they didn't. "Can we go, please" he begged his father.

Thomas tapped his wife who had one hand over their daughter's middle keeping Evan in her lap. "Lets go." They quietly slipped their way out of the theater, saying their apologies when necessary, and into the night.

"What's wrong Bruce?" his mother asked as she shifted Evan to her right hip so she could pull on the left sleeve of her coat, and then moved Evan to her left so she could finish putting on her coat.

"No, it was me. I just needed some fresh air. A little bit of opera goes a long way, right Bruce?" Thomas winked at his son before hearing the sound of a bottle rolling on the ground. He led his family away from the theater hoping to get them out of the shady neighborhood.

Bruce walked beside his mother and he looked at his sister who was sucking on the teething ring, laying her head on their mother's chest sleepily. He saw the man in dirty clothes with a mustache walking towards them. "Wallets, jewelry. Come on fast," the man said holding a gun to his father.

"That's fine take it easy" Thomas said calmly hoping to keep both his family and the man from getting too upset. He pulled out his wallet and handed it to the man but it slipped from the man's shaking hands and fell to the ground. "It's fine," he said in what he hoped was a soothing voice. The man reached down and picked it up, "now just take it and go."

"I said jewelry" the man said moving towards Martha. Thomas moved in front of her and felt heat flood through his chest as he fell to the ground. Bruce stood unable to move as he heard the gunshot and the sound of his mother screaming. She was leaning over her husband holding a crying Evan tightly to her chest. The man grabbed his mother's pearls and his gun went off as the necklace broke. The alley was eerily silent as the shot echoed through the alley. The man ran away from them and Bruce stared at his parents lying on the ground.

"Bruce" he heard his father's soft voice and felt his large hand hold his smaller one. "It's okay, don't be afraid. Take care of your sister." He watched as his father's eyes closed and his head lolled to the side, knowing he was dead. He felt his warm tears slip down his cheeks and he heard his sister crying. His mother was laying on her back with her eyes closed, her arms still wrapped around her daughter. Bruce bent low and picked his screaming sister up and saw her pretty white dress was spattered with blood. He remembered his mother's words and he made sure Evan's head was supported as she laid it on his shoulder. Her tears turned into hiccups as they stood in the dark alley beside the bodies of their parents.

He stood holding his now sleeping sister as he listened to the sound of police sirens drawing near. The flashing blue and red lights illuminated the alley, and the faces of the people from the theater who were standing separate from the sad scene in front of them. A balding man knelt in front of Bruce and asked him if he was alright. He couldn't make any words come out of his mouth, so he just nodded his head.

"Do you want me to take your sister? I have a nephew a little older than her, I'm good with kids."

"No, I have to take care of her. My mom told me how to hold her," when he said mom he looked over at her body and when the police officer looked back at him he stood and led him to the police car. Bruce had refused letting anyone take Evan, to the point where he yelled at the officer, so they allowed him to ride in the back of the vehicle holding her as he was driven to the police station.

Evan had woken from the bright lights in the station as she sat in Bruce's lap playing with her teething ring. Bruce had his hand on her chest like his mother had in the theater, trying to hold his sister the way she had. The same officer asked if there was anyone they could call and he told them to call his house cause Alfred would be there. He sat waiting to be taken home remembering the sound of his mother's screams and the shock of the silence when she stopped. He remembered his father's last words and held Evan tighter. He didn't realize he was shaking until he felt a hand on his shoulder.

Jim Gordon stared down at the young boy holding his baby sister. The poor kid was shaking, he couldn't help but feel bad for him. "I'm so sorry for what happened," the kid looked down without meeting his eyes. Jim shrugged off his jacket and placed it around the boy's shoulder and watched as he drew the baby closer to the warmth of the fabric. "She's a beautiful little girl." Her white dress was red stained, and her dark hair was as fine as silk. She had big blue eyes and a smile full of pink gums and two barely grown in teeth. "You've got a big responsibility in taking care of her. She's gonna need you kid."

"My name's Bruce" he said quietly looking at his sister.

"It's nice to meet you Bruce, my name's Jim Gordon." He held his hand out for Bruce to shake but the kid shook his head motioning to his sister. "Right, you're good with her. A lot better then I would be, I don't have kids."

"Do you want kids?" Jim had been trying to distract the boy from his memories and smiled to himself when he saw Bruce wasn't shaking anymore. Jim looked at the little girl and she smiled at him touching his face causing him to chuckle.

"I would love to have kids. Maybe when I do you could tell me how to take care of them." He smiled as Bruce nodded his head.

"Her name's Evangeline, but I call her Evan. I came up with that." He watched as Bruce shrunk back into a saddened state and placed his hand on the kid's shoulder.

"This isn't the end of the world even if it does feel like it. This may be one of the darkest days you ever have to face, but she needs you to make sure she never feels like this. You're gonna take care of her, teach her right from wrong. You're gonna let her know that no matter how hard life turns out you'll always be there to love her. And in return, you're always going to have someone who loves you back, just the way you are."

"Even when I'm sad and scared," Jim nodded.

"Even when you're sad and scared." Jim kept his hand on Bruce's shoulder and let little Evangeline play with his fingers. She found his wedding wing and held his ring finger as she started sucking on it.

"Gordon, you gotta stick your nose into everything!" A man said walking up to them. Bruce looked up at the man holding his sister tighter, and looked at Mr. Gordon who hadn't said a word. "Get outta my sight." Gordon squeezed Bruce's shoulder and wiped the drool from Evangeline's chin on his pants grabbing his jacket before stalking away.

"My name's Captain Loeb, kid, and I got some good news for you. We got him." Bruce had been looking at Gordon's retreating back but turned to the man in front of him.

"Got who?"

"Who do you think? Joe Chill. The skel who iced your folks." Bruce didn't know what the man was saying. He understood what the man was saying but he couldn't grasp it. He sat holding his sister listening to the man talk loudly feeling something bubbling inside of him. He would never see his parents again, Evan would never know what her mother and father were like. She wouldn't remember the songs her mother used to sing, or the funny faces her father made. Their parents would never go to any of their recitals or events, they would never grow up in a house where they were loved.

The feeling swelled inside of him until he could barely restrain it. He wanted to get up and start screaming, he wanted to slam his fists over and over again against the mustached man's face. He wanted him dead, he wanted to kill him. Alfred arrived at the station and filled out the paperwork to take them both home. He put a pillow on the bed to Evan's left, like his mother had explained, and he laid down beside her on the right. He fell asleep listening to her even breathing, swearing to her that he would kill the man who'd taken their parents from them.

Two days later the funeral for his parents was held as they were buried behind the greenhouse at Wayne Manor in an unused plot. Alfred was holding a squirming Evangeline, wriggling as if she knew what was happening was supposed to be unpleasant. Bruce stood beside his parent's butler and oldest, most trusted friend. The man who now had legal guardianship of Bruce and Evangeline. Bruce was wearing another suit, but Evan was wearing a black dress and soft black slip on shoes. As the coffins were being lowered into the ground Bruce could hear the sniffles of the mourners as well as feel their eyes prying at him. They expected to see his tears, he expected to cry. He wanted to cry, because it was appropriate for the occasion, but no tears would come.

As he thought of his parents bodies in the wooden boxes he felt that thing inside of him flare up at the thought of tears; they were not allowed. He was not allowed to cry, he had to be strong. As the people began leaving they gave him their condolences but he didn't care, not really. Evan was squirming in Alfred arms and Bruce seemed to be the only person who realized she was reaching for him. Bruce lifted his arms up and Alfred placed her in them. Alfred remarked on how well the young Master Wayne was with his little sister. As well as how good she was with him. She stilled completely, resting her head on his shoulder and sucking her small thumb. Basking in the warmth and the safety of her brother's arms. Perhaps even then she knew she needed him. Alfred looked away from the siblings to thank more people for their sympathies and when he looked back they were gone. The last person Alfred saw was a man with black framed glasses and a mustache. "Jim Gordon, it's a pleasure to meet you. I saw Bruce and Evan at the station."

"Alfred Pennyworth, thank you for coming."

"How is he?" If Alfred had doubts about the detective's intentions, they were cast aside at the concerned tone in voice.

"He's sad, and angry. Very angry. He blames himself."

"Kids often do." They stood in silence cast against the dreary gray of the sky. Even the weather could feel the loss. "How's our little princess?" Alfred smiled at the name the Gotham Times had coined for the youngest Wayne. He didn't know who had taken the picture, but she was in her white blood speckled dress looking very stoic.

"Would you like to come in, say hello?" Jim nodded thankful before following the aging man towards the large manor. "I'm not sure where Bruce wandered off to. He might have put her down for a nap, it's about that time." Jim smiled knowing the young boy had taken his words to heart. He would a good brother, he could already see that. He knew that Evangeline was a very lucky little girl to have him. They had gone through the front door and into the main hall when the clouds opened and began weeping. They rounded the corner and Jim saw what appeared to be a living room. And sitting on the couch was Bruce holding Evan. She was laid on his arm with her head resting in the crook of his elbow as he held the bottle for her to drink. Her eyes were closed and her long dark lashes framed her smooth pale skin. Her tiny hand was holding part of Bruce's shirt as she continued to suckle. Jim put his hand on Alfred's elbow drawing the man's attention. When he turned Jim could see the sheen of tears in the older man's eyes. He nodded to him before running in the rain to his car. Jim sat in his car listening to the rain pounding on the roof thinking of the tragedy that had befallen the Wayne children. The only way either of them would survive it was having each other. He just hoped that having her would be enough for Bruce.


	2. Growing Girls and Fist Fights

Bruce didn't behave like most of the kids his age, he couldn't. He had a responsibility to take care of his sister, one he took very seriously. Alfred would take her to the park while Bruce was at school to help her develop the skills necessary to interact with children her age, but she and Bruce always seemed to disappear after he arrived home. One day Alfred found them in their parent's room; she was asleep in the middle of the bed and Bruce was sitting next to her doing his homework.

Everyone who met Evangeline fell under her spell. She was a well mannered child, rarely fussy. She only ever cried for Bruce, but she quieted the moment he came into view. It appeared that she just needed the reassurance he was there. She loved meeting new people; at the park when women would coo over her she would sit and smile at them, speaking to them in the way babies do. Or when she was playing with other children and one would look at a toy she had she would simply hand it to them. She had the personality for making people happy. When she had started walking she would go around greeting everyone before she'd settle down to play. Alfred noticed early on that she was very aware of who she was supposed to stay with. She would never wander too far away before she would come back. Unless she was with Bruce; she stayed right by his side and he barely took his eyes off of her.

Bruce and Rachel had been exceptionally close, but as Bruce spent more of his time at home with Evan they began to grow apart. Rachel would still come by and they would play when Evan was sleeping, but Bruce was more reserved than he had been before his parent's deaths.

Anger writhed inside of Bruce as he got older, and people began seeing it behind his hard blue eyes. Rachel could tell Bruce wasn't the same friend she had grown up with and no matter how hard she had tried to bring him back he was gone. Alfred had done everything he could to make the boy understand that it wasn't his fault, but now Bruce blamed Joe Chill. The only person who could ever bring him back was Evan. She had a way of sitting with him, quiet and still, that would cool his heated heart. His eyes softened and he would smile, something that became very rare for him. But there were moments when not even Evangeline could keep him with her, and in those moments she would wait patiently for him to come back. She never stopped believing that he would always come back to her.

Evangeline Wayne was the light of Bruce's world. He celebrated her first steps, her first words, taught her how to read and write. Bruce grew up too fast ensuring that Evan grew up happy, and it saddened Alfred. Bruce was haunted by the death of his parents, it was clearly written on his face. And he wasn't taking the chance to be a child, to be happy. Bruce poured his heart and his childhood into his sister and refused to let anyone else care for her.

"You don't understand Alfred, she's my responsibility."

"I do understand that Master Wayne but you're both mine. You don't have to raise her, you're a child yourself."

"I told father I'd take care of her and that's what I'm doing. I'm teaching her right from wrong, and that I'll always love her no matter what. I swore to her and father that I would." Alfred had wanted to continue but the look in the eldest Wayne's eyes made him pause; there was deep sorrow buried within them. Bruce looked at Evangeline's happiness as keeping to his word, and if he let her down he would fail his father. So Alfred let the subject drop, and instead watched as Evan grew older and Bruce grew angrier. At some Bruce stopped asking permission to take Evan places, if he needed to go somewhere she would come along. Bruce would take her to the park and call Rachel to see if she'd like to join them, and then they'd get ice cream afterwards. He would take her to the library where she would sit for the story time and he would do his homework.

At least that was what he told Alfred he was doing. He would sit at a computer and search for newspaper articles about Joe Chill, letting his anger roll over him in waves. He sat staring at a black and white picture of the man who'd killed his parents clenching his fists thinking of the moment when Bruce would kill him. He felt small arms wrap around his shoulders and felt his tension seep away when he looked down at the dark head of his sister. "I'm gonna make sure you never feel like this." He wrapped his arms around her holding her in his lap as he thought of the life he wanted her have, and how the death of Joe Chill was the only way to achieve it.

As much as he kept her glued to his side she couldn't come with him to college. She was seven when he left for the first ivy league school, and as he stood at the train station looking down into her large now green eyes as she held Alfred's hand he couldn't remember why he was leaving her. She stood staring up at him and he could see she was trying not to cry. He knelt on the floor and she stepped into his embrace and he heard her sniffle feeling his own eyes fill with tears. He blinked them away as he straightened himself and held his hand out for Alfred to shake. He sat by a window and waved at his sister as the train pulled away, leaving her for the first time.

Evan had refused to sleep alone that night, and Alfred had begrudgingly agreed only because she hadn't cried. He read her a story on the couch and she curled herself against him as she fell asleep before he took to her room. The house had been quiet and empty before but now it was almost like a tomb. Evan rarely played with her toys anymore, she chose books instead. He would take her to the library to choose different books but she didn't stay for reading time. She preferred to be alone, but not without Alfred. As glued as her and Bruce were she stuck to him. She would sit in whatever room he was occupying and silently read or do homework, and she always fell asleep against him on the couch. He would wrap her in the blanket her mother crocheted for her, the same way Bruce had, and she would sleep. The first year Bruce had visited her frequently, but as he discovered his freedom from Gotham his visits grew fewer until he stopped visiting at all. He called to tell her goodnight before bed every night, but Alfred would sit with a heavy heart as he watched her shoulders droop as she sat quietly listening to his breathing. She would sit all night listening to the static coming from the other end of the line but Alfred would always tell her it when it was getting too late. She hardly ever said a word to Bruce when he called unless he asked a question, but being away from her so long he'd forgotten the signs indicating she was upset.

Evangeline Wayne was a well known name in Gotham, she was the princess who'd been present for the murder of her parents. Most of the kids in school left her alone because she hardly talked to them, not because she thought she was better than them but because she had nothing to say. She had been walking home from school when she saw three fifth graders hitting a third grader who was in her class. She didn't remember his name but she sat across from him during art.

"Hey, leave him alone!" she yelled running at the bigger kids hitting them with her tiny fists. She managed to hit one kid in the nose before a teacher had come running after she'd heard all the noise. The fifth graders were suspended and Evan and the boy from her class were sitting in two chairs across from each other waiting for their guardians to come get them. She snuck glances at him and saw his bloody nose and blood stained collar of his shirt as well as the black eye that was swelling. He caught her looking at him and he stared at her with his dark, angry eyes before he looked away.

"Why'd they beat you up?" she asked quietly. He turned heated eyes towards her and she sat patiently waiting for his answer. She was so used to waiting out her brother's anger that it was almost second nature to her.

"Cause they're jerks" he muttered turning away from her.

"My name's Evan."

"As in a boy?" he almost sneered.

"No, Evangeline." He almost looked surprised at the girly name. She was in a pink dress with little flowers but it had dirt and a little blood on it from when she'd run in to help him. "You can call me Evan."

"You can call me John" she gave him a small smile before looking up at the man who'd just walked in.

"Miss Wayne what have you gotten yourself into?" Alfred said sternly. It was then John realized why her name had sounded familiar to him; she was Gotham's Princess. He started feeling guilty about how rude he'd been to her.

"I didn't do anything wrong" she said meekly.

"You punched a boy in the face."

"He was hurting John, I was just helping" she said almost pouting causing Alfred to sigh.

"Come on, we've got to visit with your principal." She stood up following Alfred into the office and John waved at her when she looked back at him causing her to smile. After sitting in a chair that was too big for her listening to the scolding voice of her principal she managed to convince Alfred to let her play at the park on the way home. "Only a few minutes, we need to go to the store," she agreed before running to play scape. She flew down the slide and ran across the shaky bridge before heading to the monkey bars. She reached her hand and grabbed the first bar wincing at how much it hurt to make a fist. She looked at her purpling knuckles before looking for something else to play with. Her eyes sought out Alfred and she saw him talking to a man with a mustache and black framed glasses.

"This is Mr. Gordon, he's a detective. Next time you hit someone he just might arrest you" Alfred said looking down his nose at her as her eyes widened.

"He's right, physically harming someone is against the law. But I heard why you did it, that was very brave." Evan smiled at him in relief staring up at him.

"Come now Miss Wayne, we have to go to the store." She nodded solemnly almost pouting

"I could stay with her, if you'd be okay with that?" Jim offered the aging man hoping to give the girl her smile back. He watched Alfred look down at Evangeline before turning back to him and agreeing.

"I'll be back in twenty minutes, then it's time to go. You be good for him young lady." Jim felt as though she had just taken his heart when she smiled her sweet little smile at Alfred. She watched Alfred leave before turning her green eyes up to him.

"Would you like to play with me?" she asked batting her lashes. He looked down at her and couldn't imagine saying no. Her face lit up as she smiled and grabbed his hand. He chased her around the park imaging doing this with his own children someday when he and his wife Barbra had them.

"She looked so happy to have someone to play with her. I can't imagine how lonely she is, especially since her brother's been gone," Jim said to his wife after he'd gotten home. "She's such a sweet girl, so charming. You should have seen her. You'd love her." His wife wrapped her arms around his waist and kissed him softly.

"I guess Chicago's out then." He had been considering taking the position that he had been offered at their precinct, he'd been thinking about for years. It would pay better, and he'd get away from Loeb and his corruption, but he would be asking his wife to leave her friends and family. Then he thought of the Gotham's dark haired princess, who's joy in life hid the sadness that lay within her. He thought of the feeling of her tiny arms around his neck as she hugged him goodbye.

"Yeah, Chicago's out."

* * *

"She just jumped right in and punched him. I know Master Wayne I couldn't believe it myself. Do you want to talk to her?" Alfred handed her the phone with a slight smile before finishing up dinner.

"I'm proud of you kid, takes guts to get in a fight with people twice your size."

"Yeah, but John's okay."

"Who's John?" Bruce said teasingly.

"The boy they were hurting" she said as if he should have known causing him to laugh.

"Did you get in trouble?"  
"Why would I get in trouble?" she asked clueless.

"You hit someone Ev, usually you get in trouble for that."

"But I didn't do anything wrong. They were hurting someone so I made them stop," she explained with innocence only a child could have. He smiled realizing how much he missed her.

"So what did you do after meeting with the principal?"

"I went to the park to play, but I couldn't do the monkey bars cause my hand hurt."

"That's what happens when you punch people."

"I bet his face hurts more" Bruce had to wipe his eyes from the tears his laughter induced. "Guess who I played with at the park?"

"That kid John."

"Nope. Mr. Gordon" Bruce sobered up when he heard the name of the man who'd comforted him after his parent's died. "He pushed me on the swing and played hide and seek with me while Alfred went to the store. He said I was the prettiest girl he'd ever seen, and that was saying something cause his wife is beautiful. I really like him."

"Me too, kid. Does he have kids?"  
"No, but he said they were thinking about it. And that when I'm older I could babysit them, and he'd pay me for it. Just to play with a little kid, isn't that awesome?"  
"Yeah it is." She was so different from before he'd left, he wasn't sure if he really knew her anymore. It was one of the many times he'd questioned whether he was doing the right thing. As they sat holding their phones quietly he didn't think he was. But after being away from her and Gotham for over a year he didn't know how he was supposed to come back. He wanted to bring her with him but Alfred was her legal guardian and he wouldn't allow it. And until Bruce was done with college and had a steady job he wouldn't be able to get full custody of her.

"Are you coming home for Christmas?" she asked hopefully.

"I'm gonna try to, sweetheart."

"Okay, I have to go eat dinner. Love you" she said hanging up before he could answer. He sat by the phone wondering what he'd get her for Christmas before he realized that it was still five months away. He sighed as he thought of how lonely he was without her by his side. He could tell she was going to grow into a very caring person; the proof in her willingness to get hurt to help someone else. He could see her selflessness and it almost hurt to think of the days with her he was missing. But there was something that was keeping him from coming back. It was the memory of his father's last words, and the searing anger that coursed through him at the thought of the man who'd killed him. He had come to realize that Evan chased away his rage, and being away from her made it grow. It grew until his skin was a thin fabric concealing it from the rest of the world. He didn't want it to go away. He didn't want her sweet, innocent face, which reminded him so much of his mothers to make him feel ashamed of the anger he harbored. So he stayed away, because he would hurt her. And hurting her would destroy him.

* * *

_I have a project so the next chapter probably won't be finished until next week. Thank you so much for reading and I hope you are enjoying. Please feel free to leave a comment if I'm not portraying something right, or if I got something wrong. Or something simple like a "hey I'm enjoying this", something to let me know that people want to read it._


	3. Take Care of Your Sister

It was the day after Bruce's twentieth birthday and he was finally coming home after a year and half away. He stood at the front of the first car on the train feeling the wind trying to pull him from the train. He watched the blur of Gotham city rushing past as it came to a stop. He stepped onto the platform as he swung his duffel bag onto his shoulder. He saw a familiar head of white at the end of the platform and waved as he walked over. As he walked closer to Alfred he saw a nine year old girl he couldn't believe was his sister. When he had visited last she stood no taller than Alfred's waist, but now the top of her head was between his shoulder and his elbow. She wore a white shirt and a blue skirt as she stood holding Alfred's hand. Bruce put down his bag and dropped to his knees catching Evan as she flew into his arms. He breathed in the smell of her strawberry scented hair and held her tight against him. "Alfred said I had to go to school but he said I could come pick you up first."

He stood bringing her with him on his hip as he picked up his bag and walked towards Alfred, "You're getting heavy, what has Alfred been feeding you?" She giggled before he set her down and he shook Alfred's hand in greeting. "You didn't have to pick me up, I could've switched to the red line."

"I'm afraid not, Master Bruce. The red line's been closed down. Apparently Mr. Earle thought it wasn't making enough money." Bruce took in his father's splendid achievement, which Mr. Earle hadn't taken care of. The glass was cracked, the walls were chipped, people were huddled around fires lit in trashcans; it had become shabby. They drove towards Wayne Manor mostly in silence, and Bruce looked at the city he had grown up. "Will you be heading back to the university tomorrow? Or could I persuade you to spend an extra night or two?" Alfred asked. "You know she's really missed you," he said quietly. Bruce looked back at Evan and watched as her green eyes stared out of the window. She had always been quiet, but he couldn't tell how she was feeling anymore. He felt a pang of guilt at how much she'd grown without him. But after today it would all be over, and he wouldn't have to leave her again.

"I'm not heading back at all," Bruce said in response.

"You don't like it there?"

"I like it fine. They just don't feel the same way." Bruce smiled as he settled back in the seat of the Rolls-Royce thinking about how long he'd waited for today. He looked at his sister's dark head through the mirror and was struck again by how much she looked like their mother. He had his father's angular jaw and pointed nose, but both siblings their mother's aristocratic cheekbones and their father's dark hair. Bruce had his father's thin lips that were used for smiling, but Evan had their mother's mouth; soft, full lips that pulled down in a cute pout. Her eyes were bright green and full of life, which she got from their father, while he inherited their mother's inquisitive blue eyes. His sister would be beautiful when she was older, he could see it then. She already was, but he could tell she would turn heads as she hit puberty. He couldn't imagine how hard it was going to be keep boys away from her, but he wasn't going to let any of them hurt her.

He sat staring at his sister, who payed him very little attention, and looked up when they reached Wayne manor. He stood staring at the home that had once haunted him with memories of parents, and he could feel their presence within the walls. He followed Alfred in, who was following Evan as she raced to get her backpack. The manor was not how he had remembered it; it was clean and beautiful, but there was a smell that indicated it was barely lived in. There were white cloths that covered the furniture Alfred hadn't wanted Evangeline playing on, and all of the paintings and pictures were covered since there wasn't anyone who would really appreciate them. "I've prepared the master bedroom," Alfred said.

"My old room with be fine."

"Will all due respect, sir, your father is dead. Wayne Manor is your house."

Bruce let his irritation show in his voice, "No, Alfred, this isn't my house. It's a mausoleum. A reminder of everything I lost. And when I have my way, I'll pull the damn thing down, brick by brick."

"This house, Master Wayne, has housed six generations of the Wayne family."

"Why do you give a damn? It's not your family, Alfred"

"I give a damn, sir, because a good man once made me responsible for what was most precious to him in the whole world. This house is as much your sister's as it is yours."

Bruce stared at Alfred ready to respond, "You promised you wouldn't fight this time" they both turned looking down at Evan's sad face.

"I know kiddo, I'm sorry. I'll go put my stuff in my room and I'll be back to say goodbye before you leave." He bent down to hug her quickly before walking up the stairs to his old room. It hadn't changed much; the toys he'd played with as a child were gone, but his high school memorabilia was still there. He looked at the picture on his dresser of him as a child sitting on his father's shoulders. He smiled at how happy they both looked and he opened his bag. Reaching past his rolled up t shirts he took out a pistol and a box full of nine-millimeter cartridges. He removed the gun's magazine and with a steady hand began loading the bullets. When he'd finished he stuffed it into his belt pulling on an overcoat to hide it. He heard a car coming up the drive remembering Alfred telling him that Rachel volunteered to drive him.

He looked at his old room remembering all the nights Evan had tiptoed in and snuck under the covers to fall asleep with him. He looked at the framed photo beside the one of him and his father and felt sorrow take root in his heart. It was a picture taken of him and Evan, her when she was six and he when he had just turned eighteen. She was in a light blue dress with white shoes and he was squatting next to her in his cap and gown. They were both smiling happily at the camera Alfred had been holding. She looked out of the photograph at him with her green eyes and he could see his father's face as he lay dying. _Take care of your sister._ The image of his father dying was burned into his brain. And as he looked at his photographed sister he felt all of the anger that had been growing begin to ebb away. He felt tears of anger and sadness and tried to blink them away. "Don't cry," startled Bruce looked toward the door to see Evan in the doorway.  
"Don't worry, baby girl, I'm not crying." She walked into the room and stopped in front of where he was sitting on the edge of the bed. "Do you know what today is?" he asked as he stared into her green eyes watching confusion pass over them.

"It's the day you said you'd come home." He smiled shaking his head.

"It's when people are going to decide whether the bad man should be let out of prison. Do you remember who he is?" she nodded as her eyes grew wider. "I'm gonna make sure he doesn't okay? I'm gonna make everything better, and then I won't leave you again." He smiled reassuringly at her, showing he would take care of everything. _Take care of your sister._

Small arms wrapped around his neck and Evan held her brother as he tried not to cry. "It's okay, everything is better. I know you won't leave me, you don't have to be alone." He felt tears of shame fall into her hair as he held her tighter.

He wiped away his tears standing. "Alright kiddo, time for school." She smiled up at him before leaving. As different as she seemed to him, she still knew him. He allowed himself a moment to relish in the love his sister had given him before walking down the stairs. He heard someone in the pantry and followed the noise into the kitchen where he found an enormously attractive young woman. He had held the memory of Rachel as a scabby-kneed, freckly child. But this Rachel was devastatingly attractive.

They made small talk; rehashing old familiarities and catching up. "You're just back for the hearing? Bruce I don't suppose there's any way I can convince you not to come," Rachel said.

He stopped smiling and turned away from her. "Someone at this proceeding should stand for my parents."

"Bruce, we all loved your parents. What Chill did was unforgivable -"

"Then why is your boss letting him go?" Rachel tried to explain that Chill's testimony against Carmine Falcone was something Gotham needed, because Falcone was a major threat, but Bruce couldn't see it. And Rachel didn't understand, he wanted her too, but she didn't.

Rachel gave him a ride to the courthouse and all the while the picture of his sister's sweet face invaded his mind. He was doing this for Evan, it was the only way to protect her; at least he thought it was. _Take care of your sister. _He shook his doubts from his foggy mind as they arrived in the parking spot Rachel's name was stenciled on. After Rachel got out of the car Bruce too got out and knelt quickly slipping the gun out from under his overcoat and slid it behind the front wheel of the car.

"Shoelace," he said answering Rachel's unasked question. He nearly sighed in relief knowing she hadn't seen the gun.

Bruce followed Rachel into the courthouse, she walked up front greeting her boss and his colleagues. Bruce sat in a chair near the rear wall and waited. Ten minutes passed when a man, with the same mustache and greasy hair, entered the courtroom. Bruce felt his rage swell within him at the sight of Joe Chill. He sat in severe loathing as he listened to Chill come up with a pathetic excuse for why he should released. Bruce was asked if there was anything he'd like to say, and with the eyes of the courtroom following him, he left. He knelt by the front of Rachel's car, picked up his gun, and crammed it into the left sleeve of his coat.

He stood waiting, and watched the red-haired cop come out, followed by a prison guard. The crowd of reporters noticed them and realized Joe Chill was being taken out the side and rushed over. Surrounded by uniformed officers, Joe Chill made his way past the reporters. Bruce straightened and gulped down cold air as he began walking towards Chill. A bright light from a camera blinded Bruce momentarily when the reporters noticed him. When he could see again, he noticed a tall blond woman holding a tape recorder approaching Chill. Bruce slid his right fingers into his left sleeve and walked faster.

"Joe, hey, Joe Chill," the blond woman said. "Falcone says hi." She pulled a revolver from her purse and fired.

_Take care of your sister. _Bruce stood in shock as Chill's body sagged to the ground and the officers that had been around him wrestled the blond woman to the ground. Bruce stood and watched as Chill's body was bagged and put into an ambulance. Much to the protest of Rachel.

Bruce sat in a daze as Rachel drove. "The D.A. Couldn't understand why Judge Faden insisted on making the hearing public," Rachel said. "Obviously, Falcone paid him off to get Chill out in the open."

"Maybe I should be thanking them," Bruce said, his lips barely moving.

"You don't mean that."

"What if I do, Rachel? My parents deserve justice. Evan deserves it."

"You're not talking about justice, Bruce. You're talking about revenge."

"What if they're the same."  
"They're never the same Bruce. Justice is about harmony. Revenge is about you making yourself feel better. That's why we have an impartial system."

"Well, your system of justice is broken," Bruce said.

Rachel's eyes narrowed and her voice was low and edgy. "Don't tell me the system's broken, Bruce. I'm out there every day to fix it while you mope around using your grief as an excuse to do nothing." She spun the steering wheel and, tires screeching, cut across two traffic lanes to an exit ramp. Bruce stared out of the window watching Gotham lose money the further they drove.

Rachel steered the car to the curb and turned off the engine. They were parked in front of a building with the neon sign – CLUB- over the doorway pointing to a flight of stairs. "You want to thank him for that, here you go." Rachel told him this was Falcone's main hang out. Rachel sat in shock as Bruce pulled out the gun.

"All these years I wanted to kill him. Now I can't."

"You were going to kill him yourself." She slapped him. Bruce sat unresponsive as she slapped him again, and again and again. Rachel cried silently and Bruce put his gun in his jacket. "Just another coward with a gun. Your father would be ashamed of you."

Bruce remained quiet letting Rachel rant. "Justice, that isn't justice, Bruce. Evan doesn't deserve that. She is a kind and caring, beautiful girl. Do you think she deserves to live with the guilt of knowing her brother killed a man for her? Does she deserve to lose you? Are you so ready to leave her? Because you would have, you would have missed her entire life as she waited for you to be released from prison. Does she deserve that, or is that just the price or justice?"

Without replying Bruce opened his door and got out of the car. He watched the red taillights of Rachel's car as she drove away, knowing she was right. _Take care of your sister. _ Rachel didn't understand, he didn't understand. But he needed to do this. When she was out of sight he walked to the water and flung his gun in. He turned from the water back to the club sign and walked down the stairs.

As he entered the club he was assaulted by the polluted air; it was a brew of smoke, sweat, perfume, cologne, and alcohol. Falcone was not hard to spot; he was at a corner table surrounded by men in suits and women in cocktail dresses, spreading his hands, making a point.

Bruce crossed the room and stood in front of him. "You're taller than you look in the tabloids, Mr. Wayne," Falcone said in a surprisingly pleasant voice. A burly man moved to Bruce's side running his hands over Bruce's body. The guy gave Falcone the okay. "No gun? I'm insulted."  
"Only a coward needs a gun," Bruce replied. He sat in the chair one of the men retrieved for him on Falcone's gesture.

"Coulda just sent me a thank you note," Falcone said to Bruce.  
"I didn't come here to thank you. I came to show you that not everyone in Gotham is afraid of you."

Falcone motioned to some of the government officials that he had corrupted. When Bruce returned his attention to Falcone, he was looking at a silver pistol aimed at his chest. "I don't have to a seconds hesitation blowing your head off in front of them... that's power you can't buy. The power of fear."

"I'm not afraid of you."

"Because you think you've got nothing to lose. But you haven't thought this through. You haven't thought about your lady friend from the D.A.'s or that old butler of yours." He smiled at Bruce. "How bout that little sister?" Falcone slid the gun beneath his jacket. "People from your world always have so much to lose. That's why they come to me in business, I stop the desperate heading uptown the way Joe Chill did. You think because your mommy and daddy got shot you know the ugly side of life, but you don't. You've never tasted desperation; you're Bruce Wayne, Prince of Gotham. You'd have to go a thousand miles to meet someone who didn't know your name. You or your princess. So don't come here with all your anger, trying to prove something to yourself. This is a world you'll never understand. And you'll always fear what you don't understand."

Falcone nodded to his men and it began; a brief, savage beating, perpetrated in front of a hundred club goers.

"Enough," Falcone said and the man who was hitting Bruce stopped. Falcone jerked a thumb in the direction of a rear door and the thugs dragged Bruce through it and flung him into the street. Bruce pushed himself to his feet and staggered to a wall. He leaned against it and wiped the back of his hand over his mouth, tasting something copper, recognizing it as blood. He shoved away from the wall and walked toward the dock, aware that he was being observed from doorways and alleys.

Bruce exchanged the money from his wallet for the coat of a homeless man named Joey. Bruce dropped his wallet into the fire. "Be careful who sees you in that," Bruce said. "They're going to come looking for me."

Joey was buttoning the overcoat. "Who?"

"Everyone." Bruce smiled, saluted Joey with two fingers, and walked onto the pier. A horn blared, deep and lout, and Bruce looked toward one of the ships, its hull trembling as its engines churned the water. Bruce ran towards it. Rachel was right, Evan didn't deserve it. For the first time since he'd stepped off the train he realized he had never meant to stay. _Take care of your sister._

Evan ran to the bus and practically bounced in her seat. "Why are you so excited?" John asked from the seat behind her.

"My brother just got home," she said smiling hugely. John's stop for the orphanage was the same as Evan's and she yelled a goodbye as she ran home. She burst through the front door and heard people talking in the kitchen.

"I shouldn't have just left him there, what other result would there have been?"

"Master Bruce would have gone either way. You couldn't have done more." Alfred and Rachel were sitting across from each other and Rachel was holding the tea Alfred had made for her.

"What's going on, where's Bruce?" Evan asked gaining the two adults' attention. They heard a car pull up the drive.

"Miss Evangeline, I'm afraid Master Bruce won't be coming home," Alfred said with a heavy heart as he watched her face crumble.

Tears fell from her eyes as she ran from the manor. She ran blindly as the tears obscured her vision. She wilted to the ground and realized she'd run out of the back and around the greenhouse to where her parents had been buried. She sat crying when she heard someone walking towards her and she turned to them, "He's gone, Mr. Gordon."

Gordon looked down into her tear-filled eyes and felt his heart go out to her. She had just lost the last member of her family. He had heard what happened at the courthouse and had driven over to the Wayne Estate as soon as he could. Alfred told him what Rachel had told him, and where Evangeline had run to. Jim knelt beside her an she stood entering his embrace. She sobbed against him and he held her as she mourned. It was what he had feared from the time he saw Bruce feeding her at the funeral; Evan hadn't been enough.


	4. A Silent Princess and A Disappearing Man

_I couldn't have written a lot this story without the help of ZabuzasGirl, who's been a HUGE help. I hope you enjoy this chapter and I'm excited to actually go into the movie. Thank you for reading.  
_

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Her nose was red and runny from crying as Gordon led her into the house. He'd sat with her for almost an hour before her tears had stopped and she had been ready to go back inside. He led her back into the kitchen where Alfred was waiting for her, and she didn't cast a glance at him or Gordon as she walked up the stairs to her room. She grabbed the blanket Bruce had cuddled her in and laid down wondering why he'd left her, even though he'd promised her he wouldn't. _I'll never leave you again,_was what he'd said. The only reason he would have left her was if he'd had no choice. She curled her small body up as she thought of her dead brother.

The next morning Alfred was surprised to see Evangeline at the kitchen counter dressed and ready for school. "What would you like to eat this morning, Miss Evangeline?" Alfred asked turning to the pantry. When he didn't receive a response he turned back to see Evan eating an apple as she turned the corner to the front door; leaving without saying a thing.

She didn't say anything for weeks making Alfred concerned, her glare had been the only answer she'd given when he'd suggested seeing a grief counselor. Instead she was made to sit with the counselor at her school for recess, and still she refused to speak. She wouldn't talk in class, to her friends, to John, Alfred, or Gordon when she saw him. It was as though her voice had left her.

He insisted on her seeing the counselor at school when he'd found her sleeping in Bruce's bed. Alfred didn't know how long she'd been sneaking in Bruce's room, she had always remade the bed so he wouldn't know, until he'd found her there one morning. He sat beside her as she slept listening to her even breathing. Her face was smooth without care, and it was the first time in a month when she didn't look as though her world had ended.

Alfred had gotten a call from the lawyer who handled the Wayne's wealth, saying he needed to go over what Evangeline would receive now that Bruce was gone. The youngest Wayne had been given a quarter of her parent's finances, and the eldest Wayne was given three quarters. Bruce was given the rights to Wayne Enterprises when he finished college as well as half of the money in their parent's account. However, now that Bruce was gone Evangeline would receive half of what her brother was to be given and the rest was to be given to the orphanage. And Alfred made it clear that Wayne Enterprises would only be given to Evangeline should she desire it, and that would be decided on a later date.

The meeting with the lawyer had taken all afternoon and Alfred had needed someone to watch Evan, and Rachel had been unavailable, leaving him to call Jim Gordon. "Mr. Gordon will be picking you up from school today and taking you to his house. I'll come get you when I'm finished." She walked out of the door without saying anything heading to her bus.

Gordon was waiting outside the school and watched as the sullen dark haired young girl walked to his car. He found himself longing for the day when she'd so kindly asked him to play with her and then ran around with a bright smile on her lovely face. It had made him sad when Alfred had told him she hadn't been speaking, and that the school counselor had only told him to give her time.

His wife wouldn't be home until dinner, and he had specifically asked for this time off when Alfred had asked him to watch Evangeline. She sat at the table and silently did her homework while he looked over a report. Alfred called an hour later and said he was finished, and that he'd be there to pick her up in twenty minutes. When Jim hung up the phone he looked at Evan and saw that her green eyes were staring back at him, holding too much pain for a nine year old. He sat across the table from her and made sure he had her full attention. "I know you're upset, and I know you're sad. I told your brother once that he would always have you to love him, even when he was sad." Her eyes were wide with unshed tears. "Now I'm gonna tell you this; you're always gonna have Alfred to love you. And I don't plan on going anywhere. But sweetheart you can't be silent forever, it won't change anything. It's only hurting you, and Alfred." Her chin was quivering and he knew he was getting through to her. "That man thinks the world of you, and I know you love him as family. So you need to make sure he knows that." There was a small knock on the door and Jim stood to answer it, and bid Evan and Alfred goodbye as they left.

When they got home Evan went to her room and Alfred started on dinner. When he called her to eat she came downstairs and wrapped her arms around his waist. He felt tears well up in his eyes as he held her, thankful for whatever Jim had done for her. The next morning she sat at the table waiting for Alfred. "Would you like eggs and toast this morning, Miss Evangeline?" He always asked her questions in hopes she'd respond, but she never did.

"Yes please," she said so softly he thought he'd imagined it. He stood staring at her until he shook himself and made her breakfast. "I'll see you later, Alfred," she said as she walked out of the house to her bus.

It seemed as though a little push was all Evan needed to start living again. She reverted back to her normal, kind self but only a few people noticed the drop of her smile or the shifting of her eyes. She kept up her grades and did well in school, only struggling with math which Alfred helped her with. She had dinner with Gordon and his wife a few times over the years, becoming well enough acquainted with them that if Alfred needed someone to watch her they were the first he'd call. And as she became old enough to stay by herself the Gordon's always welcomed her to visit.

As Evangeline was coming to the age of womanhood Alfred sought the help of Rachel. Rachel began to stop by frequently to see Evan, who had become her surrogate sister. She helped Evan through puberty, her first crush, her first high school dance, her first boyfriend. Rachel also helped Evan understand that if she wasn't ready for sex then she needed to say so. Which ended Evan's first relationship, not that she minded too much.

Evan sat in the passenger seat of the Rolls-Royce as Alfred drove her to Wayne Enterprises. Mr. Earle wanted to discuss her future with the company, but she didn't know if she could see one. She sat in Mr. Earle's office and listened to him drone on about the importance of the company, and how a firm leader was needed and how great of job he'd been doing for fifteen years. He barely let her get a word in for the first hour before he started asking her questions. The whole week after he'd called she'd been trying to figure out if running her father's company was what she wanted. She visited her guidance counselor, and asked Rachel for advice but it being her decision was not what she needed to hear. She could see the greedy smile Mr. Earle wore grow as the questions went further, it being obvious she wasn't interested in the company. She asked for more time and he grinned like the Cheshire cat as he agreed.

She left his office not knowing where her life was headed, and finding herself a little afraid of the future. She nearly ran into someone before her mind came into focus on the present. "I am so sorry," she said helping the older colored man pick up the papers she'd made him drop.

"Not a problem little lady, but I do have to ask what you're doing here."

"I was here to see Mr. Earle." She handed him the papers she'd collected and stood brushing herself off.

"Ah, you must be Evangeline Wayne. Pleased to meet you, I'm Lucius Fox." She gave him a small smile, unable to form a bigger one. "Is everything alright?"

"Yes, of course," her smile was unnatural and she felt as though she were wincing and she dropped the facade when he gave her a disbelieving look. "No, I guess not. Everyone keeps waiting for an answer on whether I want to run this place," she said gesturing around her with her hands. "And I just don't know." Her shoulders dropped and she felt relieved to finally be able to tell someone she didn't have an answer.

"Maybe that's your answer." He smiled at her when she looked up at him waiting for him to continue. "Perhaps your indecision is your conscience trying to show you that this isn't what you want to do with your life."

She looked away from him thinking on what he'd said. "But then what am I supposed do? Give my father's company to a man I don't know? I don't know what I wanna do with my life." He shifted his papers to his other arm and placed his hand on her shoulder.

"You'll get there one day. You don't need to worry so much, no one will judge you for choosing not to take the company." He led her to the main floor and gestured for her to sit in the chair across from him in the lobby. "Do you have any idea of where you see yourself in the future?"

She sat straight with her hands folded in her lap as she thought, before shaking her head. "I don't know," she sighed. "My guidance counselor went over different career paths with me and I took a career aptitude test which showed that I would work best helping others, and the fact that I enjoy cooking with Alfred. There were a lot of options and I don't know where to start."

He smiled gently at the clearly worried young girl. "You don't need to have everything figured out now. Most kids your age start out small busing tables, waitressing. Start small kid, you have a few more years before you need to really think about this." He smiled as he stood patting her arm and going back to work.

Evan left more relaxed than when she'd first come, and saw the car Alfred was waiting in and walked to the driver's side waiting as he rolled down the window. "I'm gonna walk home, think everything over." Alfred nodded telling her to keep her phone on before pulling away. She walked through the streets of Gotham imagining her future within them and thought of owning a restaurant or a bakery when she was older. She was thinking of future when she saw a now hiring sign hanging in the window of an Italian restaurant. She opened the door and walked to the counter, "I'd like to fill out an application please," she said to the chesty woman with a name tag saying her name was Ally.

"Sure thing sweetheart, have a seat at one of the tables and give it to me when you're done." Evan sat and filled it out leaving the restaurant feeling lighter than she had all week.

Sal Maroni was sitting in his office at the restaurant looking over a pile of applications. Most of the applicants were people from the streets who affiliated with his side of the mob, but a few were teenagers looking for jobs. If there was one thing he couldn't stand it would be kids. He checked the age on the applications and threw all the ones under twenty one away. But one name in particular caught his eye. He looked for the number to call and picked up his phone dialing.

Evan got a call from the owner of the restaurant the next day asking her to come in for an interview. She called Rachel asking what she should wear, and Rachel told her to wear a blouse and a skirt. Evan pulled her black hair back and put on a touch of makeup before Alfred dropped her off at the restaurant.

"I must say, at first I thought it might've been a joke. But Ally told me what you looked like and here you are. Gotham's Princess asking to work at a restaurant," Sal Maroni said sitting in a booth across from Evangeline Wayne. She was pretty for her age, beautiful even, but she was still young. But that didn't answer why she was here.

"The serving industry is where most kids my age work," Evan offered with a smile.

"From you're application this would be your first job, am I correct?" he waited for her to nod before he continued. "You do know that starting out you would be clearing tables and washing dishes right? Mopping the floors refilling napkin canisters. Nothing exciting for a girl of your status."

"I'm not looking for exciting Mr. Maroni, I'm looking for a start. I don't know where I see myself in a few years and I thought maybe working a place that served people might steer me in the right direction." He looked her over pausing at her outfit; a simple white blouse and blue skirt that was belted up high on her waist before stopping at her knees. Most teenagers would either be obnoxious or nervous about their first interview, or at least afraid of him. And here one of the most well known people in Gotham was sitting across from him completely at ease. "You know kid, I bused tables when I first started out. And then I got into another line of business, but you're right this is a great start. I'll see you Monday at four." Her smile lit her face showing how beautiful she'd be when she got older and he felt the corner of his mouth tilt up. She thanked him before walking back to her house.

She nearly skipped home she was so happy. She was walking past the orphanage when she saw a familiar dark head and scowling face sitting outside. "Why are you so happy?" John asked her as she walked past him.

"I got my first job," she said proudly causing him to raise his eyebrows in astonishment.

"Really, where?"

"A restaurant, I'll only be busing tables though. But maybe I'll work my way to waitressing." She waved happily at the sullen boy as she continued toward her home. His dark eyes filled with longing watched her continue on her way until he couldn't see her anymore.

Sal had her clearing tables and mopping the floor for the first few weeks, and then he moved her to washing dishes for a month before putting her out on the floor. He was astounded by the light behind her smile every time she greeted him. There was a joy in her that showed how much she loved life, and he decided to move her to the floor when some of the customers began asking about her. She had a way of brightening people's day, and actually listened when they talked. He made her a hostess to get her accustomed to the way the tables were laid out before he had her serving people. He had asked Ally to keep an eye on Evangeline, and she brought it to his attention that after a few months of waitressing people began to request sitting in her section. He didn't know whether it was because of her genuine kindness or her name that drew people to her, but everyone seemed to be charmed by her.

It was a little after her first year of working at the restaurant when she found out what Sal Maroni had his hands in. Three men in their thirties came into the restaurant wearing suits, laughing loudly, sat in Evan's section. "Here are the menus, can I get you started with anything to drink?" she asked pulling out a pen and her order pad.

The other two men ordered their drinks and she turned to the last one. "I'll have you and a side of beer," he leered at her. She smiled at the men saying she'd be back with their drinks in a moment, and dropped her smile when she turned from their table. She got their drinks and came over with their tray passing them around. "I'll give you a few more minutes to look over the menu before coming back," she said and the same man who'd hit on her before grabbed her arm before she could walk away. She turned back to him and shook his hand off.

"I know you, you're the Wayne Princess. I heard a rumor you worked here. How's your brother?" Her pleasant look she always maintained when she worked completely dropped from her face and she stared at him in shock. "Oh yeah, that's right he's gone isn't he?" he said laughing. She felt heat crawl up her neck as she clenched her hands, her nails biting into her skin. "You know I saw him the day he disappeared. I saw the beating he was given, he could barely stand after they finished him." She felt her mouth turn down into a frown and felt the anger behind her eyes. She hadn't been this angry since she saw the kids bullying John. "Your brother was pathetic. In my opinion he's better off dead." He barely finished the sentence before she grabbed his beer and poured it over his head. Her face was pulled tight into an scowl when she felt him grab her arm again. This time his grip was tighter and he stood towering over her. She felt all of her anger drain away as fear flowed in when she saw him raise his fist towards her.

"That's enough, Dean" Sal barked pulling Evangeline away from the man and into his chest. Her back was to him but he could feel the slight tremor running up her spine, but she kept her composure. "Wait for me in my office," he said and she turned on her heel and headed to the back. His gaze shifted towards the man he had barely stopped from hitting her and Dean shrunk under his glare. "You so much as think about her and I'll have you taken care of, is that understood." His voice was low and level and he waited for Dean to agree before walking to his office. He opened the door and Evangeline turned to him with wide green eyes full of tears.

"I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have done that. It was inappropriate and rude, and I'll apologize," he cut her off with his raised hand before taking her by the shoulders.

"You don't have anything to be sorry about, he shouldn't have said anything. And don't worry about him saying anything else, I took care of it." She sighed in relief and wiped underneath her eyes.

"He said he was there when my brother was at Carmine Falcone's place, he's part of the mob. Those guys said they worked for you," she trailed off. Her eyes widened when she understood what he wasn't saying.

"Will I see you next week?" he asked expecting her to quit then and there.

"Of course, why wouldn't I be here?" His brows raised in wonder at the innocence on her face. "Oh, it doesn't bother me what you do. It's none of my business, besides who else would pay as much as you do?" He laughed patting her arm.

"Take the rest of the night off and I'll see you next week, alright." She smiled up at him and removed her apron before grabbing her purse from the locker and leaving. As much as she would like to go home she had agreed to have dinner with Mr. Gordon and his wife. She walked under the darkening sky to his home and rang the bell hearing the pounding of footsteps as they ran to the door. "Miss Evan you're here!" James said as he threw his arms around her waist. She hugged him before he led her to the kitchen where Jim and Barbra were. She sat all through dinner trying to keep up conversation as she wondered whether staying at the restaurant was the best thing.

Her quiet thoughtfulness did not go unnoticed by Gordon who pulled her aside after dinner. "Is everything alright, you seem a little preoccupied?"

"Sorry, it's just something happened today at the restaurant today. I've just been thinking things over."

"Things like whether working for Sal Maroni, a mobster, is the best thing for you?" She looked up at him guiltily and he sighed thinking back on when she'd first told him where she was working.

Jim had tried to keep up the facade that he was happy for her, but he knew what Sal Maroni did. The moment she left his house he drove to the restaurant where he knew Maroni would be. Gordon entered the restaurant and stalked to Sal's office."I don't know what you're talking about," Sal said arrogantly when Gordon first barged in.

"What do you think you're doing?" Gordon demanded. Sal dropped his smirk unsure what the police sergeant was talking about.

"Paperwork, owning a restaurant requires it. But somehow I don't think that's what you talking about."

"Why would you hire her, are you trying to get her money. Get close to her so you can rob her blind."

"Oh you're talking about the Wayne girl," Sal said finally understanding.

"Yes I'm talking about Evangeline Wayne, the girl who lost both her parents and then her brother. She's been through enough Sal, so whatever you're thinking about doing forget it. I won't let you anywhere near her."

Sal's brows raised at the threat. "I'm sorry to say but I don't have ulterior motive. She seems like a good kid, and she wanted the job so I gave it to her."

"You're right, she's a good kid. I won't let anyone ruin her."

"And I don't plan on it either. I'll see how she does wiping down tables, and if she still wants the job then she can have it."

"Why are you giving her the job, there aren't any other teenagers here."

"How many teenagers do you know with her financial status that actually ask for a job? Not only that but a job where they have to wait on another person?" Gordon sighed defeated realizing Maroni was right. It didn't make him any happier. "Look, you have my word. None of my guys are gonna go anywhere near her. Considering who she is, I'd say it's a pretty good deal."

Jim looked down at Evangeline and gave her a small smile. "I talked to him the night when you told me where you worked. He seems to have your best interests in mind. You alright?"

"Yeah, this guy was saying something about Bruce and I dumped his drink on him." He clenched his jaw but he couldn't stop the snort that came out as he started laughing. She looked at him with wide eyes, "It's not funny Mr. Gordon I could have lost my job." He kept laughing imagining her retaliation and saw her mouth begin to twitch. "Mr. Sal stepped in before the guy could do anything."

He stopped laughing and looked at her. "He did say he wasn't gonna let anyone hurt you."

"Do you think I should stay?"

"I think you should give him a fair shot, he seems to really like you." She smiled softly before thanking him with a hug. She realized that was one of the first times in years that she thought of her brother, and it still ate away at her heart.

She stayed with Sal and kept working without another incident. One day she looked up at someone coming through the door and saw the guy, Dean look straight at her. She straightened waiting for him to say something but he looked behind her and quickly looked away before sitting in someone else's section. She turned around and was greeted with a smile from Sal.

She went through her days realizing that serving people was what she enjoyed. She liked talking to people and getting to know them, and seeing the regulars. To make people happy with only a smile and a kind word. _This_ is what she wanted to do with her life, not run a big corporate company. Which is exactly what she told Mr. Earle, much to his delight. However, she left him with a warning to not forget who started the company and if he ever did that she'd be back to remind him. She stopped at Lucius Fox's small office to thank him for the advice.

She was carrying a pitcher of water so she could refill Kevin Young's, one of her regulars, glass when she looked up and saw a man across the street staring at her. He had dark hair and was wearing a blue jacket and sunglasses. She saw his mouth turn up in a large smile and she gave him a small one in return motioning for him to come into the restaurant. "Who are you looking at Evangeline," Kevin asked her and she looked down at him.

"Oh the man across the," she trailed off as she looked back up and saw that the man was gone. "I must be tired because I swear there was someone there." Kevin patted her hand and offered a smile which she gave her own in return. She finished up her shift and collected her things before telling Sal she'd see him tomorrow. She walked past where she'd seen the man and tried to figure out where he'd gone. She didn't think she imagined him; he looked so familiar.

She made it to Wayne Manor, the place she called home, and walked through the door hanging her jacket on the hook by the door. Alfred had uncovered the paintings when she grew old enough to care about them, and she spent one day going around to each one and looking it up to see the meaning and imagined how her parents had felt when they got it. She tried to imagine what they felt like when they looked at it. Some of the furniture Alfred kept covered up, and she didn't care enough to ask him to remove the sheets. She heard voices in the living room and moved her way past the main hallway and around the corner to see who was visiting. She rounded the corner and saw the back of a man in a blue jacket and she recognized it as the one the man who'd disappeared earlier had been wearing. She stared in confusion at the shocked joy on Alfred's face. The man turned around and she stared at him for a second wondering who he was before she felt her own shock slam into her nearly making her fall to the floor. "Bruce?"


	5. Knotted Throats and Seeing Sharks

"_Gotham must be destroyed."_ Bruce didn't believe that, and that's why he decided to come home. He was ready to face the criminals and those corrupted now because after seven years he finally understood. He had left years ago to learn about the criminal underworld before becoming one, now he knew he had been wrong. He couldn't become a criminal, he would be no better than them. He had to rise above the criminals, he had to have something they didn't. They would kill him if they had the chance, but he wouldn't return the favor because he wasn't like them. That was what he'd learned.

"Master Wayne, you've been gone a long time." Bruce smiled at the familiar head of gray hair standing in the doorway to the plane. He was covered in mud from walking here after he'd called Alfred, but Alfred was as pristine as he always was.

"Are you coming back to Gotham for long, sir?" Alfred asked after they had both gotten comfortable in their seats.  
"As long as it takes. I'm gonna show the people of Gotham their city doesn't belong to the criminals and the corrupt."  
"In the depression, your father nearly bankrupted Wayne Enterprises combating poverty. He believed that his example could inspire the wealthy of Gotham to save their city."  
"Did it?"  
Alfred thought for a moment before answering. "In a way. Their murders shocked the wealthy and the powerful into action."  
"People need dramatic examples to shake them out of apathy and I can't do that as Bruce Wayne, as a man I'm flesh and blood. I can be ignored, I can be destroyed. But as a symbol, as a symbol I can be incorruptible, I can be everlasting." It was what he'd been thinking about as he trekked through the land of Bhutan.  
"What symbol?" Alfred asked curious as to what the man was thinking.  
"Something elemental, something terrifying."  
"I assume that as you're taking on the underworld, this symbol is a persona to protect those you care about from reprisals."  
"You thinking about Evan and Rachel?"  
"Actually, sir, I was thinking of myself."

Bruce smiled as he realized just how much he'd missed Alfred. "Have you told anyone I'm coming back?"  
"I just couldn't figure the legal ramifications of bringing you back from the dead."  
"Dead?" Bruce was shocked.  
"You've been gone seven years," Alfred stated as though it were obvious.  
"You had me declared dead?"  
"Oh, actually it was Mr. Earle, he's taking the company public. He wanted to liquidate your majority shareholding. Those shares are worth quite a bit of money. And since Miss Wayne has given up all rights to the company," Alfred trailed off.  
"It's a good thing I left everything to you, then."  
"Quite so, sir. And you can borrow the Rolls if you like. Just bring it back with a full tank," Alfred said the last part as he leaned back and closed his eyes.

Bruce smiled thinking of coming home after seven years when a thought snagged in the back of his head. "You didn't tell her did you?"

Alfred opened his eyes and Bruce could see an almost sympathetic sadness in them. "I decided to leave that to you." Bruce leaned back staring out of the window thinking of the nine year old he'd left behind, and the sixteen year old he was coming home to.  
When they arrived in Gotham Bruce took notice of how bad things had gotten. More and more of the streets and neighborhoods were the grayish color of misuse and he knew that the criminals were at large. He asked Alfred where his sister was and asked to be dropped off at the corner of where she worked.

He stood across the street from the italian restaurant and stared at the young dark haired beauty. He was surprised at first to learn that she worked in the serving industry, given what her name was, but seeing her he knew it was where she belonged. She was speaking with an older man and laughing at something he'd said when he first spotted her. He saw how going through adolescence had given her womanly curves, and thinned out her cheeks giving her an aristocratic elegance. She was beautiful. It shocked Bruce to see how much she looked like him.

He saw her come back with a pitcher of water and she looked up meeting his eyes. He felt a smile spread wide across his face as he looked at her. He could tell she recognized him, he could see it in the crease between her brows, but she didn't know who he was. It had been too long. She motioned for him to come inside, and he saw her look to the customer he was serving and took the chance to slip away.

He walked the rest of the way to Wayne Manor still familiar with the city, though it looked different. There were more people on the streets, more people making deals in the open. He knew he had a lot of work to do and people to get tabs on. He also needed to find the symbol he'd use; something that would bring terror, something that had meaning. On his way back to his home he stopped by Gotham's Courthouse to see Rachel. She had aged but she was still just as beautiful, if not more. He saw her kiss the cheek of a man she worked with affectionately, and realized just how long the seven years had been.

He arrived home a little before dinner and smelled Alfred cooking something in the kitchen. He smiled when he took in the home he'd grown up in. The pictures were uncovered, though some of the furniture was still under protective sheets. And even though it was kept in good condition it looked and smelled old and barely lived in. "Ah, you've found your way back I see. Miss Evan will be home soon and we'll have dinner," Alfred said upon finding Bruce in the living room. He heard the front door open, "there she is now." Alfred saw her round the corner and stare at the back of the figure in confusion.

Bruce turned when Alfred motioned behind him and saw his sister up close for the first time in seven years, and saw that her eyes were a beautiful forest green; just like their father's. "Evan," he breathed her name as he took her in stepping towards her. He wrapped his arms around her and held her against him, but released her when he didn't feel her move to hug him back. He looked down at her and saw too late the loathing in her eyes before he felt a sharp sting on his cheek. He stood in shock as he listened to the footsteps go up the stairs and a door slam.

Alfred sighed moving past Bruce to the staircase. "Give her time, Master Wayne." He walked slowly up the stairs thinking how he'd forgotten she was only sixteen. The evidence being in her childish tantrum of stomping up the stairs and slamming her door. He raised his hand to knock on her door when he heard Evan gasp for air as her next sob tore through her. He quietly opened the door and saw her crying as she sat on the floor, leaning against the bed with her knees to her chest. He saw that she was clutching the blanket Bruce had wrapped her in when she was a child. And then Alfred thought how there were moments like these, when she acted so much older than her age, that made him forget she was still so young.

She stayed in her room the remainder of the night, and Alfred brought her a plate of food when he saw that she wouldn't come down. "You can't hide from him forever," Alfred said sitting on the bed beside her.

"I'll just hide until I figure what to say. Besides calling him a bastard." Her eyes widened and she covered her mouth, "sorry."

He smiled gently at her patting her knee. "Would you rather him be dead?"

She was quiet as she thought, pushing the food around on her plate not having much of an appetite. "Versus the other alternative, I guess I would."

"The other alternative?" he questioned.

She sat fiddling with the plate on her lap. "I'm not very hungry." He heard the finality in her tone and stood collecting her plate. "Alfred," he heard her quiet voice when he reached the doorway and turned back towards her. "Thank you," she said softly.

"For what, Miss Wayne?"

"Everything." It was then he understood. He put the plate on her nightstand and bent down to kiss her forehead.

"There's no need to thank me, Evangeline. You've been the light of my world since the day you were born." He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and she leaned into his chest.

"I love you," she said with tears thick in her voice. After she collected herself enough to pull away he retrieved her plate and made his way back to the kitchen where Bruce was waiting for him.

"She's not coming back down is she?" Bruce asked quietly.

"No, sir. She's had a long day, I think she's just tired."

"Thanks for trying to make me feel better, Alfred but I know her. She'd stay up there without ever talking to me if she could."

"She needs time, Master Wayne. And you need to give it." Bruce opened his mouth to respond but Alfred held up his hand. "She's given you seven years, you'll give her however much time she wants." Bruce sighed knowing Alfred was right, but wanting his sister to get over it all the same.

Before he went to bed he knocked on her door to tell her goodnight. He found her laying on her bed with a book over her lap and she was covered with her old blanket. He smiled slightly before he felt a knot in his throat. He moved the book to her night table and pulled her covers over her. He sat beside her stroking her hair, memorizing her face. He gently kissed her cheek before turning out her light and retreating to his own room.

Over the next few days after Bruce had made his return to Gotham he visited Wayne Enterprises. He had made it public news that he had come back, saying he'd been traveling; learning the different cultures and their people. Leading everyone to believe he was a playboy. He assured Mr. Earle he had no interest in taking over the company, only a trust fund, leaving the older man very satisfied to have him. Bruce asked to work in the Applied Sciences Devision, which is where he met Lucius Fox. There were many prototypes that piqued his interests and he was happy when Mr. Fox agreed to let him borrow them.

He also went to their family to lawyer to see about getting his inheritance Evan had been given after he'd been declared dead. He came home that afternoon with a consent form for her to sign after she got home from school. "I need to talk to you before you leave for work," he said as she walked up the stairs.

"K," was her short response. She had barely been answering him in full sentences if she spoke to him at all. Usually she would look at him before leaving the room. He waited for her in the hall and watched as she came down the stairs wrapping a scarf around her neck in her black pants and a white shirt. "What?" She stopped at the last step and looked at him waiting for answer.

"I went to see Mr. Carmichael about getting my inheritance back and I have some forms for you to sign before you leave."

He saw her eyes harden as the corners of her mouth turned down. "You think you can just come back and act like you never left? That you actually have the right to that money anymore?" She moved down from the last step to stand before him. "That money's been mine for seven years, and you think you can just take it?"

He stared at her in shock, and disappointment. "You're still gonna have a lot of money left if that's what you're worried about."

"That's not," she stopped, "you don't even get." She shook her head with a smile though it was anything but happy. He followed her to the kitchen and she grabbed a pen before looking over the papers she needed to sign. He watched as she flourished her name in the spots indicated before slamming the pen down and pushing past him without a word.

Later that night after Bruce finished eating dinner with Alfred, he stood pacing as he ranted. "I don't understand why she's so upset. I mean you'd think she would rather me be dead." His voice was raised as he paced, letting go of his anger at his sister.

"She needs time, sir."

"I've given her time. Honestly, Alfred, she's acting like a spoiled brat," Bruce said as he stopped pacing and stood facing Alfred.

Alfred released a breath before looking up at Bruce. "Honestly, Master Wayne," Alfred said letting his own irritation show, "she's acting as though the most important person in her life told her he wouldn't leave her and then did." Bruce stood in shock at the chiding tone in Alfred's voice, finally realizing why his sister had been so distant.

Evan had walked to work trying to keep herself from crying and went to the back to put her stuff away before tying her black apron over her waist. She looked at her face in the mirror quickly and wiped the mascara that was under her eyes from a few tears. "You don't strike me as the kind of girl to check her makeup in the mirror." She heard Sal say from behind her. When she turned to face him he could still see remnants of the black smudges her tears had left. "Are you alright, Evan?"

She looked at him and hesitated before she answered. "I'm fine," she said with a small, unconvincing, smile.

"If you want to take the night off and go home,"

"No, home is the last place I wanna be right now. I'm fine, I can work." She gave him a smile he could tell was fake, but still lovely to look at.

He took the handkerchief out of the breast pocket of his suit jacket and wiped the remaining black smudges from beneath her eyes. "Alright, but don't pour a drink over anyone's head." She smiled as she laughed before heading out to the floor.

"My name's Evan, what can I get you started on to drink?" she asked grabbing her order pad and a pen out of her apron. She looked up and met the bluest eyes she'd ever seen. As she looked at them it felt as though he were looking through her rather than at her. His cheekbones were sharp, and his nose was straight. She was reminded briefly of a shark.

"I'll have a water," his voice was deep and precise, showing he knew exactly what he wanted.

"Alright, I'll bring that out and take your order." He gave her a brief smile before she turned and walked away. He watched the motion of her hips and the straightness of her back that both pushed her breasts out and kept her chin raised. She carried herself in a way that not many other women did. She held herself as though she knew where her place was in the world, and that it was higher than most other people. But she smiled and acted like she didn't care she was supposed to be superior, like she didn't see herself as better than anyone else. He watched her speak briefly with one of the other people she was serving as she carried his water to him.

She placed his water on the table and grabbed her pad and pen. "Have you decided what you'd like, or do you still need a few minutes?" She wrote down his order before making her rounds to her other tables. She checked on him once more after she'd given him his meal and moved back and forth from the floor to the kitchen. "Do you have room for dessert or would you like your check?" She asked when she saw he'd finished.

"Just the check please," he said. She went to the computer and had it printed out before refilling one of her table's glasses. "Are you alright, you seem like something's bothering you?" he asked as she gave him his bill.

"Oh no, I'm fine," she said smiling.

"That smile didn't reach your eyes, in fact you squinted slightly when you did. Given all of that I'd say you're lying." She looked at him with wide eyes. "My apologies, I'm a psychiatrist reading people's my job. I guess I don't know when to stop."

She smiled at showing her forgiveness. "Where do you work?"

"I work in Arkham Asylum, I'm Dr. Jonathan Crane," he said holding out his hand for her to shake.

"So you're the doctor Rachel keeps talking about. You know she's not very happy with you."

He laughed and nodded. "I do know that. I also know you used that to keep yourself from having to answer the question."

Her brows were knitted as she stared at him. "You're good."

He laughed pleased. "You're still avoiding the question," he said after she didn't say more. "Are you sure you're alright?" he said making sure there was enough concern in his voice to make it sound genuine.

She sighed thinking before looking back at him with her deep green eyes. "I suppose." He raised his brow and he read her look to mean he should wait for her to finish. "My brother just came back after being away, I guess I'm having a hard time adjusting."

He nodded his sympathies. "I hope things turn out okay. It was nice meeting you Evangeline," he said giving her an impressive tip before leaving the restaurant. He took out his cell phone and dialed the number he'd been given. "Yeah I found her. She works at Sal Maroni's place."

"Very good. What's she like?"

"She seems very kind. She doesn't follow the rules of her social class, she works in restaurant. I think that explains itself," Jonathan said as he steered his car onto the road.

"Did she tell you anything about her brother?"

"She doesn't seem too happy he's back." He drove his car hearing silence from the other end. "What's our next move?"


	6. I Can't Breathe Without You

_Thank you all so much for reading, I hope you enjoying this prequel. Again, a lot of this could not have been done without the help of ZabuzasGirl._

* * *

Evan asked Sal for as many shifts as he could give her, and often when she was home both Bruce and Alfred weren't there. One time when she was by herself she had just made a sandwich when the sound of voices coming from the southeast wing of the house reached her ears. She had hastily cleaned her mess grabbing her sandwich and slipped unnoticed out the front door.

She huffed angrily as she put her jacket on listening to her brother. "I don't like that you're working for him, Evan. He's a bad guy, you could get hurt."

"It's my life, Bruce. I can do what I want."

"No actually you can't. You wanna know why, cause you're a kid. Not just a kid but my little sister. I'm telling you to quit, I'm not asking," he said following her as she collected her things for school.

She turned around to face him with an irritated smile on her face. "That's funny, I don't remember asking for your opinion on this matter."

"You don't have to ask, I'm your brother I have a say in this and I'm telling you, you are not working there."

"You gave up the right to say anything when you left." She left him standing in the hall in shock as she made her way to school, and then to work after.

A few times during her shifts Dr. Crane would have a meal at Maroni's restaurant, always sitting in her section. He'd ask her how she was doing and she'd always say she was fine, and then she in turn would ask him how his work was and he would nod saying it was good. He would tell her about his work when she'd ask and he was amused by how much interest she seemed to have for everything people said. "How are things with your brother?" he asked after seeing her at the restaurant the fourth time.

She stood still and he could see her thinking before she responded. "It's alright I guess."

"You'd be happier if things were better between the two of you, you'd look happier. You smile and you care, you're the same sweet person but you're not happy." He saw her brows furrow and a pensive look spread across her face. "I'm afraid you can't get anything past me. I think I pushed too hard."

"No, it's fine. I shouldn't bring my baggage to work."

"You don't, you're very good about hiding it. I'm just better at finding it." She gave him a soft smile and bid him goodbye and he left the restaurant knowing more about her than he'd hoped.

She ended her shift and pulled her coat tighter around her as she made her way home in the dark. She walked under the street lights as she wove her way through the city of Gotham to Wayne Manor. She was so caught up in her mind that she didn't notice the large shadowed figure watching her from above. The same figure that had been following her home for days.

She woke up the next morning and got ready for an early shift, coming into the kitchen to the smell of coffee and the sound of Alfred's voice on the phone with the low sound of the news on the television. She made herself a cup of coffee, not missing the look Alfred gave her much to her delight, and turned up the volume on the news. "Batman," she whispered to herself. She felt like she should remember something but nothing came to mind. She shook her head to clear her thoughts when she heard Alfred calling her.

"That was Master Bruce, he asked me to take a clean suit to him so I was wondering if you wanted a ride?" She took a sip of her coffee thinking it over before smiling in agreement.

She sat in the passenger's seat as Alfred drove to wherever her brother was. "He stayed in a hotel," she asked confused.

Alfred sighed and nodded. "Miss Evangeline, I really have to get somewhere would you mind dropping off the suit and then walking the couple of blocks to work?" She looked at him ready to refuse but she nodded in agreement when she saw the pleading smile on his face. She got out of the car, missing his look of triumph, as she moved to his side of the car. He rolled down his window to tell her his room number and she opened the rear door behind his seat to grab the suit. "Now you take good care of that, make sure it doesn't wrinkle."

"I know how to handle a suit, Alfred. Besides, there aren't any puddles for me to drop it into on the way to his room," she said with a smirk.

"Do I need to take that to him?" he asked worried.

"No, I can do it. Why do I get the feeling that you played this whole "give me a ride to work" thing so I'd be forced to talk to him." She nodded to herself, proud that she'd been right but irritated she'd been played.

"You know this never would have happened if you'd learn to drive, Miss Wayne," Alfred said teasingly.

"I'll learn to drive when I'm ready," she had the bag the suit was in laid out across her arms as she said that.

Alfred chuckled. "You'll be my age by the time you're ready."

She smiled at him before she headed into the hotel and made her way to the front desk. "I'm here to drop something off for Bruce Wayne."

"Name please," the woman asked looking at her computer.

"Evangeline Wayne." The woman straightened and gave a large smile as she hustled to get a room key for her. Evan thanked her and made her way to the elevator and then to his door. She opened the door seeing first the impressive decorations in the master suit, and then the two naked women on the bed asleep.

Bruce had a towel hung around his hips as he made his way out of the bathroom. He saw Evan standing in the front of the room by the door and she wore such disappointment on her face that he felt ashamed. She walked to him and laid the bagged suit in his arms before staring up at him. "So this is what the famous Bruce Wayne does with his time," she said disgusted before leaving. He closed his eyes in defeat when he heard her slam the key card down on the front table before closing the door.

She walked the rest of the way to work in an angry haze slamming her locker shut before throwing her apron on. She kept a strained smile on her face through her morning shift and knocked on Sal's office door.

"What can I do you for, Evangeline?" he asked looking up from his papers. After she'd learned he was a mobster she had a hard believing all of the papers were just for the restaurant.

"Is there any way I could a shift later tonight?" she asked.

He raised his brows in amusement. "You're lucky that one of the girls had to cancel tonight." She smiled in relief. "Is everything alright at home, I know you're brother just back?"

"Yeah it's fine, he's just so," she stopped pushing her hair out of her face, "different." She sighed leaning against a chair and looked up at him.

"I'll see you at five." She smiled her thanks before grabbing her stuff and leaving.

She walked home and said hello to Alfred who was cleaning the living room. She grabbed her backpack and went up the stairs to do her homework. She finished a paper in english and continued with a project in history, as well as a few worksheets for a few other classes when it was about time for her to go back to work. She changed into different pants before leaving her room and passing Bruce's. She glanced in his room and stopped short when she saw that all of his things were gone. She stood in the hall staring in shock at his empty room not hearing the footsteps coming towards her. She turned her head when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

Bruce saw her standing in front of his old room and put his hand on her shoulder to get her attention. She turned to him with wide green eyes that were close to tears and he decided not to push her. She looked back to the room blinking. "Where's all your stuff?" she asked quietly.

"I moved it to the master bedroom."

"So you're gonna be in our parents room?" she asked needing reassurance. She nodded to herself and walked towards the stairs. It was then he realized, as his hand dropped from her shoulder, for the first time since he'd been back, she hadn't pulled away.

He raced after her calling her name. "Evan. Evangeline Grace." She turned to him with her coat half on and waited. He walked up to her and grabbed her shoulders holding her firmly. "I'm gonna say this once so you listen well." Alfred had heard him calling her name and stood listening, wondering what the young Miss Wayne had done. "I am not gonna leave you again, do you hear me?" She looked up at him and he could see the tears in her green eyes before she nodded and left. He turned towards the sound of someone standing next to him.

"I think it's time," Alfred said. Bruce nodded looking at the older man smiling.

Evan finished her shift and took off her apron wearily before grabbing her things. "I'm guessing I'm gonna see you for your shift tomorrow?" Sal asked with a small smile at the exhausted young woman.

"Yeah, although I have the later shift so I can sleep in," she said before a yawn took hold of her. He chuckled patting her shoulder before shooing her outside.

She crossed her arms in front of her as a cool wind blew against her. She saw a homeless man sitting against a building to her right and she smiled at him as she passed him. He had a big puffy coat on, and a red beanie. She stifled another yawn as she continued on her way home. She was under the yellow hue of the street lights as she passed a dark alley to her right. She heard the sound of quick footsteps behind her and turned seeing the man from before running at her. She dropped her purse and ran but she had been too slow to react and felt a small scream in her throat when a hand grabbed her arm. A cold hand clamped over her mouth as the man started to pull her into the alley. All of the light that had been around her seemed to go out when they entered the alley, and shadows loomed around them. The man had one hand over her mouth and the other around her waist keeping her arms immobile. She felt metal stairs under her feet and tripped a few times only for the man to roughly pull her up. She felt tears on her face, and knew he felt them sliding over his hand. When they reached the top of the stairs she saw, to her horror, that they were on a roof. She dug her feet into the roof trying to stop him from moving closer to the edge but he overpowered her as she came closer to it. The man whipped his head around hearing the large thunk of someone landing on the roof. She caught a glimpse of something big and black from around the guy's arm before he turned to her and pushed her closer to the edge. Her screams were muffled by the man's hand and her tears were flowing freely as she saw the ground below her. "Don't come any closer, I'll push her off." She whimpered against the man, trying to get closer to him and away from the edge.

"I don't think you really wanna do that," she heard a deep grumbling voice say from behind her.

"I'll do it," the man holding her yelled. She didn't know who was there she just hoped they had plan to save her. "Stay back." She could hear the fear in the man's voice as he yelled over his shoulder, still holding her on the edge.

"I'm afraid I can't do that," she heard the deeper voiced man say. She tried to grab the arms of the man as they released her and she screamed as she fell. She screamed as the ground came closer and felt her entire body jerk as a large, strong arm wrapped around her waist. She looked to see who had saved her and saw Batman holding her with one arm, with a grappling hook in his other hand. She recognized the ears on his mask as the shape from a shadow she'd glimpsed one night. She wrapped her arms around his neck and held him as he lowered them down. His feet touched the ground and he bent down putting her on her feet. She looked up at him from under one of the street lights and saw that only his mouth and chin were visible. The underneath of his eyes were painted black, but she looked into his green eyes in confusion. She reached her hand up and ran her fingertips over his jaw and lips. "Oh my god, bats," she said with a small laugh finally understanding. She saw the corner of his mouth turn up slightly and felt his familiar smirk with her fingers.

"Go home," he said squeezing her arm before he released her. She watched as he ran back into the alley and she began making her way back home.

Bruce caught up with the man who'd tried to take his sister, but couldn't get anything out of him. He dropped the man off at the police station before heading back home.

"I want my phone call," the man in the red beanie said to the cop in booking. He was led handcuffed to a phone and pulled out the slip of paper with a number he'd been given. "I failed, the Batman saved her."

"We'll have to try something different. I guess I'll have to take care of her myself," the voice on the other end of the phone said before hanging up.

Bruce went through the bat cave and saw Alfred standing at the top waiting for him. "I'm guessing she told you?" he said as he took his mask off.

"She did, though she didn't seem as surprised as I thought she might." Bruce chuckled remembering her reaction. "You should talk to her tonight," Alfred said. Bruce nodded as he took off his suit and tried to come up with what he'd say. He and Alfred went up through the old elevator and back into the house. "She must be in her room," Alfred said when they saw that it was dark in the house. Bruce made his up the stairs up and saw her room empty. He backed away from her room slowly making his way to his room and saw her sitting on the edge of his bed. He let out a sigh of relief, thinking someone had taken her again. She stood when she saw him and he could see she was struggling with something.

"I love," she paused, "you."  
He let out a breath and felt his heart swell. "I love,"  
"No," she interrupted him, and he stood still in the doorway. "I'm not. No, just," she raised her hand to silence him, closing her eyes as she fought for the words. "I love you," she said with no hesitation. She stood before him and he could see past the anger and the hurt, and the fear of him leaving her again; he could see his sister, the way he remembered her. "You hurt me."  
"You know I'm sorry," he said. "I'm so sorry for leav..."  
"No dammit, not for leaving." He stood still wondering what he'd done besides that. "You came back and acted like everything was fine, like you'd never left. You tried to make it seem like we were okay, you didn't even think that I'd be mad. You didn't even care to think that I might have been upset you'd left me," she stuttered. He could hear the sound of tears in her voice and then she'd push them away only for them to come back again. "You've been watching me for I don't know how long. You've been looking out for me, you've been protecting me because you love me." He saw her face clear as she realized every shadow she'd been seeing was him. "You left me, and I can't. I don't want you to." She looked around the room trying to think of what she needed to say. "I can't breathe," she said looking at him for the first time, "without you."  
He felt tears in his throat as he looked at his sister. "Evan," he breathed.  
"If you're gonna leave, if there's a chance that you're gonna leave me," she stopped, unable to keep herself from crying.  
"I won't," he said. He stepped closer, and when she didn't move away like she'd done every time since he'd been back, he wrapped his arms around her. "I won't," he said with his face buried in her hair. He could feel the shaking of her shoulders as he held onto her, and cried when she wrapped her arms around his waist. "I won't."

He held her as she slept curled up next to him. In the light of the rising sun he stroked her cheek watching the sunrise color her face and paint her hair. He ran his fingers through her long dark hair falling back asleep. He woke with a start to find his arms empty and he looked around confused. He got up and went to her room and then downstairs when she wasn't there. He found her and Alfred arguing over the coffeepot but they stopped when they noticed him. Evan took Alfred's distraction to steal the pot and pour herself a cup before leaving. She looked up at him as she passed and he sighed when she didn't say anything. "Bye Evan," he called after her.

"I'll see you after school before I go to work," she called back making him smile.

He looked up to see Alfred smiling at him. "I told you so, Master Wayne. All she needed was time." Bruce shook his head before getting ready to see Lucius, putting an alarm on his watch to be back at the house when she got home from school.

They sat at the table staring at each other with Alfred in the kitchen pretending to do something but really watching the two siblings. "How was school?" he asked at a loss for what to say.

"It was fine, we learned about world war two. Nothing else remotely exciting happened. Oh I did almost burn John's eyebrows off in chemistry. I put the stuff in too fast, it was a complete accident but he thinks I did it purpose."

Bruce looked at her amused. "Is there a reason he thinks you did it on purpose?"

"I might have been poking fun at him," she said. "Just a little bit," she defended herself.

"Well what'd you say?"

"I said he should take the stuck out of his ass and he might start having fun," she said innocently.

"You did not, Miss Wayne," Alfred said appalled and Bruce stifled his laughter.

She looked up at Alfred with wide eyes. "What, I was just being honest. He's always so grumpy." Bruce bit back his smile at her defending herself from Alfred's scolding look. "I have to go to work," she said relieved to get out from under Alfred's penetrating glare.

"You will apologize to him."

"But I don't want to," she mumbled. She huffed, "Fine I'll tell him I'm sorry I brought up the fact that he has a stick up his ass." Bruce finally let out the laughter he'd been holding in and she bid them both goodbye before leaving.

She walked to work and grabbed her apron when Sal called her over. "We're closing up in about two hours," he said hastily before going back to his office. She had become used to him closing early a few times a year, and she assumed it was because of his other "business". She went through the first half hour going through to her tables, getting their orders from the kitchen. She knew everyone in the restaurant and they all knew her. She managed to say hello to at least everyone in the dining room when she got another table. "Hi my name's Evan, what can I get you started on to drink?" She took his order and smiled at him. He was older man, with graying brown hair and a goatee, along with kind blue eyes. He was the only person in the restaurant she didn't know. She continued moving around her section checking on her tables supplying them with their requests. She was just handing the man his check when she couldn't resist asking, "Are you new here?"

He smiled slightly up at her. "I suppose so, I'm visiting a friend."

"Oh that sounds nice," she said with a smile. "When was the last time you saw them?"

"Not too long ago, less than a year at least. We didn't leave on the best of terms, and I'm hoping to make everything right."

"That sounds great, I hope everything works out." He smiled up at her and she couldn't help but think how nice he was.

"Thank you very much. You said your name was Evan, is that correct?"

She smiled knowingly. "It's short for Evangeline."

"That is a beautiful name." She smiled shyly at the comment. "It's a good name for such a lovely girl." She felt herself blush at the compliment much to his amusement.

"Thank you."

"You wouldn't happen to be related to that wealthy young man who's all over the news would you?"

"If you're talking about Bruce Wayne then yes, he's my brother."

"And yet you work here. You don't act like a Wayne, that's a good thing," he ensured her. "You remind me of my daughter, she's a little older than you. She too rose above where she came from to be the amazing woman she is today." He stood smiling and patted her arm leaving her a descent tip. She smiled as the older man left, wondering who he was here to see.

She finished up with her tables before placing the chairs upside down on the tables for the custodians to clean the floor. She grabbed her jacket and purse and headed out the door to the bright sun. She started walking the well known path back to her house when she felt as though there was someone watching her. She looked over her shoulder but didn't see anyone other than people going about the streets not paying attention to her. She bent her head down and continued walking, coming up on the alley where someone had tried to take her only the night before.

"Miss Wayne," she heard from behind her and turned to see a familiar handsome face.

"Hello Dr. Crane, how are you?"

"I'm good, how are you you?" he asked politely.

"I'm doing well actually," she said with a smile.

"That was a beautiful smile," he said looking hard at her. "You're happy. I assume you and your brother are on good terms then?" he asked pleasantly.

"I suppose we are, am I that obvious?"

"No, I'm just that good."

She laughed pleasantly. "I guess you have a right to confidant about that."

"That I do," he said smiling at her. He had been moving forward as though walking with her and they were at the mouth of the alley. "I heard about what happened last night, are you sure you're alright?"

She wrinkled her brows as she looked up at him questioningly, knowing she'd yet to give her police statement.

"Yeah, I'm fine. You know I really have to get home, but I'll see you around," she said walking ahead of him. She had just passed the alley when she felt a cloth around her mouth. She smelled something sickly sweet and something in her brain told her to hold her breath. She saw the wall of the building come around her and realized she was being dragged into the alley. She scratched at the hands holding her and dragged her legs. But his arms wrapped around her middle keeping her still. Her heart was pounding at the lack of oxygen and she was struggling to keep herself from breathing. She kept jerking her arms trying to get away but his grip was too strong on her. She sucked in air involuntarily, her mind telling her body she needed air, and smelled that sweetness that made her want to vomit. She started thrashing around but his grip on her tightened. The sky above her grew fuzzy and she couldn't make out the colors anymore. She couldn't feel her body anymore, it was like it was just gone; she was numb. She struggled on the edge of consciousness twitching as she fought for air.

"Shh, it's okay," she heard Dr. Crane whispering in her ear as he stroked her hair. He no longer restrained her body but continued holding the rag soaked in chloroform over her face. "The fun's only begun," was the last thing she heard before darkness consumed her.

Jonathan knelt to the ground holding her limp body in his arms. He stroked her hair as he stared at her face. He put one arm under her legs and had one arm around her back as he stood holding her to his chest. Her neck arched as her head fell back exposing her beautiful flesh. He carried her through the alley towards the dark car that he was told would be waiting there and a man jumped out of the driver's side and opened the door for him. The older man in the back seat reached for her and Jonathan braced one hand around her as the man grabbed her shoulders pulling her in with Jonathan following after. Her eyes started fluttering as she began regaining consciousness and she felt as though she'd been hit by a car. She felt her head on something warm and looked up to see a fuzzy face and a goatee. She squinted up at the man until she could see his face and recognized him as the man from the restaurant. He smiled at her placing the rag back over her face, and she didn't have the strength to hold her breath for more than a few seconds before she was smelling the chemical again. "Sleep now Evangeline, all will explained soon." Ra's al Ghul said to the young woman as her eyes closed once more.


	7. Under Her Skin

**To clear up any confusion in this chapter, the italics are when people are under the effects of the fear toxin. So the italics are not reality. I had to deviate from the movie when it came to John, cause his age just doesn't work in my story or the actual movie. Cause he was supposed to be 8 in Batman Begins, but that would mean he would be like 17 in the Dark Knight Rises instead of in his mid 20s. So I changed it a little bit, even though I didn't really want to.**

**Thank you all so much for reading, and reviewing. I love getting them, to know that people are enjoying the work I put into this. So thank you very much.  
**

* * *

Alfred looked at the clock for the fifth time feeling his worry churn in his gut. Evan had told him she might get off early today, and if not her shift ended at ten. He had called her cell phone when she wasn't home ten minutes after ten, which was usually how long it took for her to walk home. When she didn't answer he waited for ten more minutes before calling again; receiving her voice mail both times. He called the restaurant immediately after and got a hold of the man who closed the restaurant after he cleaned it, saying Evan had clocked out a little before five.

"I don't know Master Wayne, she should have been home over five hours ago. Did that man tell you anything last night?" Alfred asked feeling fear flow through his veins as cold as ice.

"No, he said nothing. I'll look for the signal on her cell phone. If I don't call in an hour call Gordon," Bruce said from atop a skyscraper as he looked down at Gotham city. He located the coordinates to the tracking device in her phone and dropped from the tall building gliding towards the ground. He saw a man in an old coat sitting by a fire, and he grabbed the man by the scruff of his neck holding him in the air as he dug through the jacket pockets. He pulled out Evan's wallet and her cell phone and he shook the man. "Where did you find this?" he yelled gruffly at the terrified man.

"I I I, fffound it iiin the alley," the man stuttered. Bruce set him down and stared down at him.  
"By Sal Maroni's restaurant?" The man nodded and Bruce shot up to the roof with a grappling hook before dialing Alfred's number. "She's gone."

Evan felt as though she were peeling her eyes open as she woke. Her head was made of lead and her body wouldn't move. She didn't know what she felt like but she knew it was wrong, everything was just wrong. There was a lamp hanging overhead glaring at her with it's false light. The colors of everything were swimming together in circles and she saw people but she couldn't make them stop moving long enough to see their faces. She saw eyes that were so ice blue they felt like a knife stabbing her, and then gray eyes that smiled down at her saying things her ears couldn't understand. She felt the clouds drifting through her head as things slowly began to clear. She could hear talking and saw the dark ceiling above her, and she could feel the cold metal table she was laying on. Her fingers tingling at the sensation of feeling, her whole body did. She felt as though she were buzzing as she regained the feeling of her body. "Where am I?" her voice was thick in her throat and it hurt to speak. She tried to swallow but it felt like there was something in her throat.

"Where no one will find you," she heard a voice she knew she should recognize. She looked up to see a man with a goatee and graying hair looking at her from upside down.

"Why are you doing this to me?" She couldn't bring her voice higher than a whisper; it felt like her voice was stuck in her throat.

"It's nothing personal, Evangeline. You've done nothing wrong, you're just his weakness." She felt her brows knit together in confusion and saw him smile. "He can't be who he's meant to be because you're his source of compassion. Without you, he could destroy the world. So you see, my dear, I have nothing against you. But this has to be done." She felt his hands smoothing her hair away from her face, a caring gesture. She finally understood that the man he was in Gotham to see was her brother. She followed his gaze and turned her head slowly to the handsome face of Dr. Crane to her right. He smiled at her holding a breathing mask and saw it was hooked up to a canister beside him. He walked closer to her and she recoiled from him.

"No, please," she whimpered as tears fell from her eyes and ran down into her hair. She tried to sit up using her arms as leverage on the table but the older man grabbed her shoulders and pulled her down. She heard him say something but she couldn't take her eyes off of Dr. Crane as he stood smiling at her. She felt someone grab her left arm and she looked to see a red haired man holding it. She tried to pull away and grabbed his hand but her right arm was restrained by Dr. Crane. She cried, and begged for them to stop as they bound her wrists to the table and then as they restrained her ankles, and all the while the older man from the restaurant was stroking her hair. She looked up at him with wide terrified, tear-filled eyes. "Please, I just got him back," she whispered, her voice breaking from too much strain, looking him in the eye.

"And now you're gonna leave him." She saw no remorse in his eyes, only pity.

She turned her head away from Dr. Crane as he stood beside her holding the breathing mask, trying to get away from him. The older man held her head firmly in his hands as Dr. Crane slipped it onto her face, tears streaming down the side her face and a scream tearing out of her throat. "We're too far down for anyone to hear her," the man holding her head said. She held her breath trying to keep this from happening again but was shocked when it smelled like vinegar. _She coughed and choked at the awful smell feeling as though her lungs would burst until suddenly she couldn't breathe. Colors danced and swirled above her, and there was a bright light shining in her eyes. There was something covering her nose and mouth and she wasn't breathing. She tried to claw at whatever was suffocating her but there was something around her wrists. She gasped for air screaming for help feeling nothing when she breathed in._

Ra's al Ghul watched as her eyes widened in fear as she started gasping. Her screams were quiet beneath the mask and her body twitched with every jerk she gave trying to free her hands. He looked down at her as he walked towards the door knowing she was loosing her mind. He turned to his second and motioned for him to come closer. "Give these to her in intervals, and let the toxin wear off before putting the mask on her again," Ra's said giving him the vials of a repressive for the Dr.'s drug. "I'll call you when it's time." Ra's waited for his trusted second to nod before he left.

Jonathan stared down at her as she thrashed around in the grips of terror. He saw her eyes widen even further when she took notice of him, and he knew she was seeing him as a monster. He slipped the mask off of her face and heard her beautiful screams echo through the cold room. She curled her body up as much as she could in the restraints to get away from him and he smiled down at her. She laid on the metal table bound and screaming. "See, Evan, isn't this fun?"

Jonathan stood over her watching her scream as she tried to cover her face. She would have hidden her eyes behind the safety of her hands if they hadn't been tied down. She would turn her head away from his face, seeing something terrifying in his skin, only to see something else coming from the walls. She screamed and writhed bound on the table until hours later she nearly stilled, her mind unable to bear the terror. Her shoulders twitched as her back arched looking as though she were seizing, and her eyes began rolling to the back of her head. The man Ra's had told to stay with her took out a small vial of clear liquid and attached a needle before injecting it in her arm. "What is that?" he asked jerking his head to the now empty vial as Evangeline's eyes closed and she stilled completely.

"It represses the effects of your drug. It'll keep her mind stable longer," the man explained not taking his eyes off of her.

"When will she wake?" Jonathan asked, eager to hear her scream again.

"A few hours," the man answered shortly glaring at him. Jonathan looked back down at Evangeline's lovely sleeping face, and gently ran his fingers over her cheekbones and jaw feeling the tantalizing flesh beneath his fingertips.

Jonathan sat staring down at her until her eyelids began fluttering. Her breathing increased as she woke and her eyes blinked in the harsh light above her, and he could tell by her flinch and the stitch in her brow that her head was pounding. He saw the movement down her neck as she tried to swallow and his fingers itched to stroke her skin. She blinked her reddened eyes as her mind came into focus and he saw the moment when she realized the previous night hadn't been a dream. Her eyes shifted and met his blue ones and he could almost hear her heart racing. He smiled at her and he watched her deep green eyes fill with tears and heard her hoarse plea as he placed the mask over her face. "I'll come back for you Evangeline," he promised as he stood leaving to go to Arkham. The red haired man took his vacant seat by her side and he almost felt a twinge of jealousy towards him. He closed the door before making his way to the staircase leading to the main floor of the abandoned building. He heard the moment when the man took the mask off of her face, and her sweet piercing screams called to him as he left.

* * *

"Storm's coming," Bruce said perched on the stair railing behind Gordon's house.  
Gordon turned at the sound of the deep voice seeing Batman. "The scum is getting jumpy because you stood up to Falcone."  
"It's a start. Your partner was at the docks with Falcone."  
"Well, he moonlights as a low-level enforcer," Gordon admitted, showing he knew his partner was corrupt.  
"They were splitting the shipment in two. Only half went to the dealers."  
"Why? What about the other half?" Gordon asked.  
"Flass knows."  
"He won't talk."  
"He'll talk to me," Bruce said knowing he could scare the information out of him.

Gordon stood in the dark night thinking for a moment, before speaking again. "There's a girl missing. She's about sixteen, you probably know of her. Evangeline Wayne." Gordon trailed off thinking of all of the places she could be, but knowing she wasn't in any of them because he'd checked himself. "Her guardian called last night saying she'd never come home."

"She's important to you," he heard the deep guttural voice state.

"She's very important," Jim said softly.

"I'll keep an eye out. Treat her as though she were my blood."

Gordon nodded relieved that someone else was now looking for Evan. "Commissioner Loeb set up a massive task force to catch you. He thinks you're dangerous."  
"What do you think?" Bruce asked, thinking he would have caught on to who he was from the hint he'd given him.  
"I think you're trying to help," Bruce smirked as Gordon looked away momentarily, still in the dark on his identity. "But I've been wrong before," Gordon said as he looked back to the railing seeing that Batman had disappeared.

Bruce slipped among the shadows of the night on the tops of buildings through the pouring rain until he found Jim Gordon's partner Flass. He strung the large man upside down and asked questions until he received answered. Flass hadn't known much, but the man did know that the drugs had been dropped off with someone so they could add something to the drugs before they were sold. Flass also knew the drop off was in the Narrows, which was where Bruce went next.

He hung off the side of an apartment building looking at the place above him through a periscope equipped with a night-vision lens. He saw through a field of green that the place was empty except for a few boxes and a pile of stuffed bunnies. From the apartment beside him he heard shouts of anger and saw a kid, no older than Evan, come onto the fire escape platform. It took the boy a minute before he noticed Batman hanging from the side of the building, but when he did Bruce saw the smudge of dirt over the kid's forehead and what looked to be a bruise on his cheek. "It's you isn't it?" the kid asked with wide eyes. "Everyone's been talking about you." Bruce could see himself in the kid; there was an overwhelming sense of anger beneath the kid's dark eyes, threatening to break out.

As they stared at each other they heard from inside, "John, get in here."

"No one would believe me," John said with rueful smirk.

"She would," Batman said realizing this was Evan's John. He folded his periscope and tossed to it John before opening the window of the apartment above and slipping inside. He knelt in front of the pile of stuffed rabbits and picked one up, seeing that it had been ripped open. He heard a noise at the door and melted back into the shadows.

The door opened and in the glow from the hall light he saw Dr. Jonathan Crane and two other men enter the apartment. Crane pointed at the pile of stuffed rabbits, "Get rid of all traces."

"Better torch the whole place," one of the men said taking out a bottle of amber liquid and pouring it over the toys.

"Make it fast," Crane said as he moved towards the open window.

"Got a date?" the other man jested as he poured a canister of gasoline over the room.

"Something like that," Crane said paying little attention to the men as his mind ran with thoughts as he looked down at the fire scape.

"She must be pretty special to have caught your eye then."

Crane smirked still searching below, "She's practically a princess."

Bruce felt a flood of searing hatred course through him as he realized what Crane had just said. "Wait a minute," the guy with the gasoline said. "I gotta take a leak." The man switched on the light as he entered the bathroom, and glancing briefly in the cracked mirror he saw a dark figure behind him. But before he could yell Batman slammed his head into the mirror, and as he fell to the ground unconscious Batman was already out of the bathroom taking out the second man.

Bruce stood facing Crane, feeling his blood boil as he looked at the man who was now wearing a burlap mask. Crane raised his hand and a tiny cloud of smoke puffed from his sleeve. Instinctively, Batman turned his head to avoid inhaling it and leaped at Crane. "Where is she," he yelled trying to grab a hold of the doctor. There was a second puff of smoke and this time Batman breathed it in and choked.

_And Batman, who was now Bruce Wayne as a child in the bottom of a well was not looking at a man in a funny mask. No, he was looking at a demon raised from hell with flaming eyes and tentacles spinning. Bugs were crawling over his masked face, and bats were flying out of his mouth._

Crane smashed a bottle over Batman's head as he watched the caped bat writhe around on the floor. This was almost as much fun as watching Evan, almost. Crane took out a lighter and flicked it holding the flame out to the Batman. "Need a light?" he asked pleasantly and tossed the flame at the gasoline soaked caped crusader.

_He felt the heat from the flames, hearing the flapping of bat wings as he stumbled towards the window which was now receding into the horizon. No matter how far away it was, he had to reach it. _

He closed his eyes and flung himself out of where he knew the window had to be and felt himself descend towards the ground. Tiny sharp pinpricks jabbed at his face and he barely caught the thought that told him it was rain. A car broke his fall as his ignited cape continued to burn. _He fell with a thud on the ground and he rolled and twitched as he tried to put the flames out seeing bats exploding from every dark crevice. He saw figures that were contorted dark shapes with claws and he ran from them until he collapsed unable to go further. He laid on the ground feeling the needles piercing his face and saw his parents die. He heard the sound of his sister screaming and saw the baby from his memory morph into what she looked like now. Her dark hair pooled around her head as she lay screaming. A man in a burlap sack crawling with bugs straddled her waist. Maggots and beetles fell from the mask onto her skin and his clawed hands tore at her flesh, and she laid there screaming for him._

_And then he was in the alley surrounded by bats, screeching and tearing._

"Alfred," he yelled into the tiny phone he pulled from his utility belt. "Help me," he begged as the sound of screeching filled his ears.

* * *

Jonathan's footsteps were quick and steady as they moved down the stairs into the basement. He opened the door to see the red headed man sitting beside an unconscious Evangeline. The man moved as Jonathan reclaimed his seat beside her. He smoothed the hair away from her face where it stuck from the sweat of her thrashing around in terror. Her eyelids twitched from the movement of her eyes as she slept. "How long until she wakes?" he asked running the tips of his fingers along her cheek, agonizingly awaiting when she'd scream again.

"Less than an hour," the man replied staring at Jonathan.

"Fantastic."

* * *

It was the second day Evan wasn't on the bus or in her classes, but after the news reports stating her missing, John sulked quietly through the day not expected her to be there. She was the only person he would have told about what happened last night. And Batman had been right, she would've believed him. Even without the souvenir. They had a moment of silence throughout the school and John rolled his eyes, it wouldn't do anything. None of the kids who shed tears for her, who huddled together praying for Evan actually knew her. He knew Evan well enough to know she'd want to laugh at the theatrics of it all, that she'd thank them and smile sweetly because that was just her. But she would give him a smile, meant only for him, to show she wasn't buying it, and that she knew he wasn't either. He didn't realize how much of him getting through each day was because of her; not until now, now that she wasn't here. He finished the day pushing past people wishing he knew where she was. "Hey kid," he heard from behind him and he turned around to see an older man with black framed glasses and slightly graying hair step out of his car and come towards him. "What's your name?"

"John," he said quietly staring down at his shoes.

Gordon looked at the sullen kid having noticed his removal from the other students who mostly had heard that day of Evan being missing. "You don't want to pay your respects?"

Gordon felt the heat of the glare John turned on him. "This isn't a funeral," he nearly hissed. "She could be perfectly fine."

Gordon held back his smirk. "So you're the boy she punched a kid in the face for a few years ago?" He watched as John pushed his anger aside and saw the apprehension that now clouded his eyes. "You haven't seen her, or heard from her?" John shook his head, wondering for the hundredth time that day where she was. He felt a hand on his shoulder, and looked up to see kind gray eyes looking back at him. "She's important to a lot of us, but there's only a few who're important to her. If it's any consolation I think you were one of them." John looked at Gordon surprised, and he could see clearly that the kid had a crush on her. "You were a constant presence for her in a life where the important people left her. You may come to be the most important person to her."

John nodded not entirely sure what the officer meant. "We have to find her first." Gordon smiled and agreed before squeezing the kid's shoulder and going back to his car. No closer to finding Evan than when she first went missing.

* * *

Jonathan put on his mask to see her reaction and smiled when he heard the strangled screams as she tried to pull away from him. Her wrists were rubbed raw from the countless numbers of times she had tried to free them, and he had put lotion on them while she slept to make them less chapped, but he chuckled darkly at the small trail of blood that dripped down her arm as she struggled violently.

_There were bugs falling from his mask as he unleashed his demonic laugh. She tried to get away from them but she could feel the bugs as they landed on her. Maggots, earwigs, cockroaches, beetles, and spiders crawled over her skin. She could feel their tiny legs as they scuttled across her flesh._

He stood over her as she screamed and thrashed, watching as the blood flowed from her wrists. Her screams eventually quieted and he leaned over her watching as her body seized unable to move anymore. Her clenched fists slackened and her green eyes stared up at him wide and horrified. Her eyes stared, unmoving, at him and her breathing was short and labored from her previous exertions. Her breaths came in short gasps and her back arched as her mind seized with another bout of fear. He watched the movements of her body, storing everything to memory and looked up briefly when the red haired man moved for the first time in hours. Jonathan watched as he injected the clear liquid into her veins but she didn't fall unconscious immediately as she had before.

_She stared up at the man in the mask knowing somewhere in the back of her mind that it was Dr. Crane, but the wriggling of the bugs covering his face and crawling on her skin made her unable to focus on that fact. She saw movement from the corner of her eye and a man with a melting face came into view. She watched as his skin melted like wax and felt one of the bugs bite her. And then they were under her skin. She could feel them crawling around beneath her flesh; in her fingers, her chest, her legs. They were eating her away and she knew there wouldn't be anything left of her._

Jonathan removed his mask as her eyes closed and her breathing evened. Her face was still turned towards him and he noted that the more fear her mind was exposed to, the more she couldn't turn away from it. It was as though she caught sight of something that scared her and she focused on it unable to move on. He heard his cell phone ring and pulled it out of his pocket looking briefly at the number; Arkham. He sighed looking back at Evangeline and smoothed her hair back before leaving. He dragged himself up the stairs and out into the setting sun, having been away from work too long, wishing he could go back. Yearning to give her his toxin and watch until her mind could take it no longer.


	8. Isn't Something Missing

Bruce opened his eyes and stared ahead of him until he realized he was in his room. He heard the ringing of metal on glass and turned his eyes to see Alfred stirring something in a glass of water. "How long was I out?" Bruce asked almost not recognizing the hoarse voice that came out of him.

"Two days. It's your birthday," Alfred said leaning over to hand Bruce the glass. "Many happy returns."

Bruce tipped the cold liquid into his mouth and winced as it went down his sore throat. "I've felt these effects before, but this was so much more potent. Some kind of hallucinogen, weaponized in aerosol form," Bruce said before taking another drink.

"You have been hanging out in the wrong clubs Mr. Wayne." Bruce paused mid swallow at the sound of Lucius Fox's voice and looked over to see him sitting in a chair across the room.

"I called Mr. Fox when your condition worsened after the first day," Alfred explained.

"I analyzed your blood, isolating the receptor compounds and protein-based catalyst," Lucius said walking closer to Bruce.

"Am I meant to understand all that?" Bruce asked.

"No, I just wanted you to know how hard it was. Bottom line I synthesized an antidote."

"Could you make more?"

"Planning on gassing yourself again?"

"You know how it is, Mr. Fox. You're out on the town, looking for kicks and someone's passing around weaponized hallucinogens," Bruce trailed off feigning naiveté.

Lucius smirked not buying it. "I'll bring you what I have. The antidote should inoculate you for now. Alfred, always a pleasure," Lucius said before leaving.

Bruce laid in his bed unable to find the strength to get up. "You should go back to sleep. I'll wake you in time to prepare for your party," Alfred said rising from his chair beside the bed.

Bruce sighed heavily rubbing his heavy eyes. "I can't have a party, Alfred. Not with her still missing." Bruce felt something click in the back of his mind but his head hurt too much for him to grasp it.

"I know, Master Wayne, but like I told you before it is expected."

"How can it be expected, she's my sister? Life isn't supposed to go on unless she's here, why can't people get that?"

Alfred gave him a look of sympathy. "People do get that, just not these people. Wealthy individuals never pass up a chance to show their wealth. And playboys don't pass up the chance for a party. Whether their sister is missing or not."

"She's been gone for three days, Alfred." The sound of defeat was laced in the exhaustion in his voice.  
"There's still hope, Master Bruce. I won't give up believing she's gonna return home just fine. You will find her, you just have to be Bruce tonight." Alfred drew the shades and left closing the door to give Bruce more time to sleep.

He woke two hours later feeling better rested and got out of his bed when he heard the sound of the doorbell. He made his way down stairs and saw Alfred at the front door speaking with Rachel. Bruce descended the steps and called her name. She looked up at him and frowned. He knew how he looked: hair tousled, eyes red, unsteady on his feet. Alfred passed Bruce as he went up the stairs and handed him a small wrapped box.

"Looks like someone's been burning the candle at both ends," Rachel said. "Must have been quite the occasion."

"Well it is my birthday," he said smiling, though he didn't feel in the festive mood.

"I know, I'm sorry I can't come tonight. I was just dropping off your present."

Bruce wrinkled his brows almost hurt. "You've got better plans?"  
"My boss has been missing for two days, which in this town means I should probably start by looking at the bottom of the river." She paused and her eyes widened. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean," she covered her mouth with her hand. "She's gonna be fine, I didn't mean," she stopped not knowing what to say to correct the mistake she'd just made.

"It's fine, we'll find her."

The sound of a ringing phone caught both their attention and Rachel excused herself as she answered. Bruce stood listening to the irritation in the way Rachel was talking. When she was speaking to the other person on the line Bruce heard the name Crane and a puzzle piece clicked into place. Bruce stood with the thoughts of the first time he'd seen Crane playing in his mind when Rachel stuffed her phone back in her purse looking anything but happy. "What's wrong."

"It's Falcone. Dr. Crane moved him to Arkham Asylum on suicide watch."

"You're going to Arkham now? It's in the Narrows, Rachel," Bruce said not wanting her anywhere near the Asylum or Dr. Crane.

"You have fun at your party, some of us have work to do."

"You be careful."

Rachel smiled and looked down at the gift in his hand. "Happy birthday, Bruce." As she was leaving he tore into the present seeing a small card that bore the writing "finders keeper", and an arrow head he hadn't seen since he was eight. He smiled at the memory before looking up at Rachel who was driving away.

Bruce set the box down before heading to the southeast corner of the house "But Master Bruce, the guests will be arriving shortly," Alfred said hurrying after Bruce.

"Keep them happy until I arrive. Tell them that joke you know," Bruce said hitting Alfred's arm in a companionable way before going down into the batcave knowing two things; one, Rachel would need his help and two, the threat lay in the man who knew where his sister was. Bruce went down the old elevator to the cave and stepped to a wardrobe. The Batman costume was inside, a phantom that seemed to be staring at him.

He arrived at Arkham a little after Rachel did, both having gotten there after the sun had set. He hung on the wall of the building listening to Crane and Rachel talking. She wasn't happy, or buying the fact that Falcone suddenly had a psychotic breakdown without any previous indications, and Crane was playing as though it were a tragedy as well but that he was the expert and knew what he was doing.

"I respect the mind's power over the body. It's why I do what I do." Bruce, as Batman, listened to the deep, arrogant voice of the doctor wondering if he was playing with Evan's mind.

"I do what I do to put scum like Falcone behind bars, not in therapy," Rachel said in response showing her anger through her voice. Dr. Crane followed Rachel as she walked towards the elevator. "I want my own psychiatric consult to have full access to Falcone, including bloodwork to see exactly what you have him on."

"First thing tomorrow then," Crane said sounding bored.

"Tonight. I've already paged Dr. Lehmann," Rachel said tired of the doctor getting criminals off on the grounds of insanity.

"Would you also like to inspect our facilities, Ms. Dawes?" Crane asked with an undetectable smug smirk sounding in his voice.

"It wouldn't hurt," Rachel said, and that was the last of their conversation Batman was able to pick up before the elevator doors closed.

Bruce had learned at the monastery how to use darkness to his advantage. As Batman he could use any kind of darkness; he could conceal himself in shadows, or if necessary and the conditions were right, he could hide in plain sight. But none of that was necessary here. The building itself seemed to radiate it's own darkness and there were no lights on the grounds to dispel it.

He had descended from the roof and was halfway to the ground when he paused, and conjured up a mental image of the asylum schematic he had memorized before leaving the batcave. There was a hydrotherapy room in a sub-basement that seemed to be unused. That might or might not be where Crane would take Rachel if he meant to do her harm, but it was as good a place as any to start his search. He dropped to the ground and crouched low running his hands along the wall to find the window he thought to be the one that led to the basement.

Crane had positioned gunmen on either side of the door and the window. They waited, but not for long.

Someone groaned. The sound came from above, in the rafters.

"Shoot!" Crane demanded.

The other gunman fired upward blindly. A blackness quickly descended on him and he was quiet. There was a sound of a muffled blow from across the room and Crane knew that the third man had been taken down. He hid under the stairs behind his mask waiting for the Batman to come closer. He watched as the caped demon took out his men effortlessly before he struck. Crane grabbed the Batman's arm but felt a sharp pain when it was twisted. He felt the cool dank air hit his nostrils as his mask was taken off. He struggled but the Batman had a hold on his arm and felt rough hands in his hair as his head was pulled back.

"A taste of your own medicine, doctor?" Batman asked before shooting the drug in the man's face. Batman watched as fear clouded the doctor's eyes when the toxin began to kick in. "What have you been doing down here?" he demanded. Crane looked at him and Batman could imagine what demon from hell he looked like to the doctor, who was unable to answer. With a hand holding Crane by the jaw he asked, "Who have you been working for?"

Crane opened his mouth and closed it like a fish out of water. "Ra's al Ghul."

"Ra's al Ghul is dead," Batman said, knowing it to be true. He had one question he couldn't let his confusion over the doctor's lie make him forget. "Where is she?" he ordered shaking the doctor who had a crazed smile on his face.

His eyes were wide with fear but Batman could see the pleasure in them at a thought. "She's probably screaming," Batman clenched the hand around the doctor's jaw making Crane moan in pain.

"Where is she, Crane?"

Batman saw something in Crane's eyes change as the man's erratic breathing begin to normalize. "Dr. Crane isn't here right now. If you'd like to make an appointment," Batman didn't let him finish as he slammed Crane's head into the wall knocking him unconscious. He wasn't any closer to finding his sister, and he knew Crane wouldn't say where say where she was. He looked around the room as the sound of police sirens filled his ears. Batman spotted Rachel lying still on the table, and picked her up taking her out of the basement.

Gordon arrived in front of Arkham Asylum hearing that Batman was inside. He could tell that his partner Flass was afraid to go inside because of Batman, as were the rest of the men who were waiting for the S.W.A.T. Team. Gordon didn't listen when someone yelled for him to come back, and ran into the building with his gun drawn. He moved slowly through the building, creeping towards the stairs and heard the sound of back up as they began to enter the Asylum. Gordon felt a hand covering his mouth and an arm around his waist and then he was flying upwards. When he stopped moving he stood on the top floor staring down into the wide eyes of Rachel Dawes who wasn't moving. "What's happened to her?" Gordon whispered.

"Crane poisoned her with a psychotropic hallucinogen. A panic inducing toxin."

"Let me get her down to the medics," Gordon said putting his gun away.

"They can't help her, but I can. Get her downstairs and meet me in the alley on the Narrow side." Gordon watched as Batman lifted his right foot and hit something on the heel. "Crane's been smuggling his toxin hidden in Falcone's drugs, and dumping it in the water supply."

Gordon paused shocked. "What was he planning?"

"I don't know," Batman admitted.

"Was he working for Falcone?"  
"He mentioned someone else, someone worse." Batman looked down at Rachel who looked as though she were vaguely aware of her surroundings. "I need to get her the antidote before the damage becomes permanent."

"How long does she have?" Gordon asked before they both looked up at the lights coming on.

"Not long."

Gordon heard an odd sound coming from outside of the asylum's walls: a screech melded with what sounded like flapping wings. "What is that?"

"Backup."

Gordon bent down and picked Rachel up moving towards the stairs when he heard yelling, and the other noise getting louder. A swarm of bats flew around him as he made his way down the stairs past the officers where ducking away from the small animals. He could feel the resistance from the tensing of Rachel's back, proving that she was aware of her surroundings. He saw her blink rapidly at the passing bats. He quickly walked down the stairs and outside past the flashing of the police cars until he stopped in the alley Batman had told him to wait for him at.

"How is she?"

Gordon heard from behind him and he turned facing Batman, who took Rachel from his arms as he replied, "She's fading."

Batman held her feeling the tiny bit of awareness fading the longer she was exposed to the drug. She let herself hang limp in his arms, but he could practically see her mind working through what she was seeing in the batmobile. He told her to stay calm and breathe slowly, knowing she probably couldn't hear him. He drove through the city of Gotham past the obstacles that were the police trying to stop him. He drove over rooftops trying to get Rachel to safety, knowing somewhere in the back of his mind that he had chosen Gotham over his sister. If he had been Bruce Wayne the first question he asked Crane would have been about Evan, but he wasn't Bruce Wayne, not then. He had been Batman, and Batman had no place making a decision between the city of Gotham and one person, no mater who she was. He felt the guilt of that decision weigh on his shoulders as he tried to get away from the searching lights.

He turned the lights off of the batmobile and blended in with the night around him. The searchlight moved on searching for him and he turned to Rachel who was still in the grips of fear, "Stay with me."

He drove away from the freeway losing the helicopter, and into the back roads leading to the batcave. He glanced over at Rachel and saw her eyes fluttering as she lost consciousness. "Just hold on," he told her. He drove through the waterfall yelling her name to try to keep her awake but she was unconscious again. He glided from the batmobile over to the table where a canister holding vials of the antidote were and grabbed one before gliding back and giving it to Rachel. He moved her to the table and waited until she woke a few minutes later.

"Where are we?" She asked looking up at the ceiling covered in bats. "Why'd you bring me here?"

"If I hadn't your mind would be lost. You were poisoned." He pushed her back down on the table after she tried to stand, remembering that it had been Crane. "Gordon has Crane."

She looked up at him with wide confused eyes. "I'm going to give you a sedative" he said holding it up. "You'll wake up back at home. And when you do I want you to get these to Gordon and Gordon alone. Trust no one."

"What are they?"

"The antidote. One for Gordon to inoculate himself and the other for mass production," he said before sedating her. When her head fell back as consciousness left her he set the vials beside her and took off his mask. As Bruce Wayne he wanted nothing more than to tell her how he felt, but that meant obligations – of trust, and fidelity – or to subject her to continual danger. Something he was already doing to one person. He put his mask back on as he left her.

He came out of the entrance to the batcave in Wayne Manor and saw Alfred waiting for him. He finished tying his bow as Alfred berated him for his driving which was on the news. Bruce had tried to explain he had done it for Rachel, but Alfredwas right, he couldn't make things person. Batman couldn't make things personal.

"We need to send these people away now."  
"Those are Bruce Wayne's guests out there, sir. You have a name to maintain," Alfred said.  
"I don't care about my name."  
"It's not just your name, sir, it's your father's name! And it's all that's left of him. It's what's being passed down to Miss Evangeline, don't destroy it." Alfred left the room to find a caterer to drive Rachel home, leaving Bruce to realize the man who knew where his sister was was now under the poisoned drug. It was the first time in the three days since she'd been missing that he wondered if he'd ever get her back. Or what shape her mind would be in when he found her.


	9. It Will Steal Your Innocence

Bruce smoothed back his hair and straightened his tie adding a casualness to his gait and an easy smile to his face, a smile which didn't quite reach his eyes. He entered the main room hearing a chorus of happy birthday and he added a cheerfulness to his smile that couldn't have been further from how he felt. Rachel had almost died, Ra's al Ghul's name was now haunting him among hundreds of questions that no one could answer. And the worst part was that Evan was still missing, and the man who knew where she was wouldn't talk. He was anything but cheerful.

Bruce moved through the crowd smiling and thanking his guests as he came to Mr. Earle. He was wished a happy birthday and was told that the company's future was secured. Bruce shook his hand and shambled on exchanging pleasantries, grinning, shaking hands, until he reached where Lucius Fox was standing.

"Thank you for that item," Bruce said smiling widely.

Lucius looked up smirking. "Your welcome, I know you'll put it to good use."

"I already have. How long would it take to manufacture on a large scale?"

"Weeks, why?"

Bruce sighed looking away. "Someone's planning to disperse the toxin using the water supply."

Fox smiled amused. "Water supply won't help disperse an inhalant."

Bruce watched the smirk slide off of Mr. Fox's face. "What?"

"Unless you have access to a microwave transmitter powerful enough to vaporize the water in the mains. The kind of transmitter Wayne Enterprises has recently misplaced."

"Misplaced?" Bruce asked shocked.

"Earle just fired me for asking too many questions about it."

"I need you to go back to Wayne Enterprises and start making more of the antidote. I think the police are going to need as much as they can get their hands on." Bruce turned away from Fox.

"My security access has been revoked," Bruce heard Fox say.

"That wouldn't stop a man like you, would it?" Bruce said with a smile patting him on the shoulder hearing Fox's agreement.

Bruce returned to his shambling and hand-shaking until an elderly woman wearing a lot of makeup grabbed his arm. "Bruce," she gushed. "There's someone here you simply must meet."

"Not just now, Mrs. Delane," he said trying to brush her off.

Still holding his arm she steered in the direction she wanted him to go. "Now am I pronouncing it right?" she asked. Bruce looked to the man she had put him in front of and sawonly the back of his shaved head. "Ras All Gool?" she said mispronouncing a name he new very well.

The slackness left Bruce's mouth and his eyes were no longer vacantly happy. The man turned and Bruce found that he didn't recognize him. "You're not Ra's al Ghul. I watched him die."

"But is Ra's al Ghul immortal?" someone said behind Bruce, and before even turning Bruce knew who the speaker was. His old mentor Ducard, dressed in a black tuxedo and leaning on a polished ebony cane, beamed at Bruce. "Are his methods supernatural?"

"Or are they cheap parlor tricks to conceal your true identity," Bruce replied. "Ra's."

Only a few seconds had passed since Bruce had called Ducard by real name, but nothing had changed. The partiers were still dancing, the music was still playing. No one was as shocked as Bruce. And in seeing the head bow of acknowledgement Ra's gave him, Bruce then realized who had really taken his sister. "Surely a man who spends his nights scrambling over the rooftops of Gotham City wouldn't begrudge me dual identities?"

"I saved your life," Bruce said not understanding why Ra's was doing this.

"I warned you about compassion, Bruce." Bruce scanned the room berating himself for noticing them earlier – these grim men from the League of Shadows who hovered at the edge of the crowd, obviously out of place; hard, dangerous men, some of whom Bruce recognized from the monastary.

"Your quarrel is with me," he said. "Leave these people out of it. Leave my sister out of it."

"You're welcome to explain the situation to them," Ra's replied. "I'm afraid it's becoming too late for your sister. I tried to tell you but you wouldn't listen; she will _always_ be your greatest weakness."

Bruce moved past Ra's and grabbed a glass of champagne. "Everyone. Everybody," he said clinking his glass. "I, uh... I wanna thank you all for coming here tonight and drinking all of my booze." Bruce smiled lazily as the guests laughed. "No, really. Uh... There's a thing about being a Wayne that... you're never short of a few freeloaders, like yourselves, to fill up your mansion with, so, here's to you people. Thank you," he said taking a gulp of his champagne.  
Joe Fredericks, his father's old friend, stood in front of him. "That's enough, Bruce."  
"Mm," he mumbled swallowing the sweet liquid. "I'm not finished. To all of you, uh, all you phonies, all of you two-faced friends, you sycophantic suck-ups who smile through your teeth at me, please leave me in peace. Please go. Stop smiling. It's not a joke. Please leave. The party's over. Get out." Bruce was surprised to to realize that much of what he had said, he believed. He watched as the partiers moved towards the door, some looked back at him giving him looks of contempt, though most of them left without a second glance. The vast room was silent except for the sound of their movements. Bruce could hear automobile engines starting in the driveway outside. The musicians finished packing their instruments and sheet music and left. The room was empty except for a dozen men who stood with their arms hanging loosely at their sides, weight centered in their bellies, and Bruce and Ra's al Ghul who faced each other.

"Amusing, but pointless. None of these people have long to live – your antics at the asylum have forced my hand," Ra's said moving away from the hall.

"So Crane was working for you," Bruce said realized the doctor had been telling him the truth.

"His toxin is derived from the organic compound in our blue poppies. He was able to weaponize it."

"He's a member of the League of Shadows?" They were moving further through the house, as though Ra's knew it's layout.

"Of course not. He thought our plan was to hold the city for ransom."

"But you're really going to unleash Crane's poison on the entire city," Bruce said now knowing what Ra's was doing in Gotham.

"Then watch Gotham tear itself apart through fear."

"You're going to destroy millions of lives."

"Only a cynical man would call what these people have "lives," Wayne. Crime, despair... this is not how man was supposed to live. The League of Shadows has been a check against human corruption for thousands of years. We sacked Rome, loaded trade ships with plague rats, burned London to the ground. Every time a civilization reaches the pinnacle of its decadence, we return to restore the balance."

"Gotham isn't beyond saving. There are good people here, I just need more time," Bruce said trying to convince Ra's of what he himself knew to be true.

"You're defending a city so corrupt we infiltrated every level of its infrastructure effortlessly."

Bruce looked at Ra's's profile, limned against the window, and saw what a disguise the Ducard persona had been. His clothing had not changed, and neither had his appearance, yet he was a different man – taller, straighter, with eyes that gleamed from beneath a ledge of brow, and enormous dignity. His words were those of a fanatic, but his manner was not at all fanatical. He seemed grave, and sad.

Bruce had purposefully not allowed himself to ask about Evan, hoping Ra's would speak of her himself. But he didn't seem to want to talk about her, almost as though Evan was no more than collateral damage. "What about Evan, she's a good person you have to know that?"

Ra's sighed heavily. "I know."

Bruce looked at his old mentor, his old friend with wide eyes. "You sent that man after her?" he said in shocked realization. The man he had saved Evan from the night she learned he was Batman, had been from the League of Shadows.

Ra's smiled slightly before he replied. "Now you see how easy it was to find her, to take her from you."

"She's a good person, you've seen that. You know. And you're going to kill her – that doesn't bother you?"

"Do I look as though it doesn't bother me?" Ra's said irritably. He did not. He looked like a man maintaining his decision under a tremendous weight.

"Let her go, she's done nothing," Bruce pleaded realizing by the heaviness of Ra's's shoulder that he didn't plan to.

"She won't die, Bruce. She just won't be the sister you remember, she won't be a weakness."

"You speak of how the way people live as not being 'lives', what life would she have?"

"The life she was intended. She was never meant for the life you would have her live. How long did it take for her to warm up to you again? She didn't mourn you, she was fine without you. Then you came back, and was she happy you were alive? Did she rejoice? She was never meant to have you back. Now she won't."

Bruce stood in shocked silence unable to process what Ra's was saying. He felt something being pressed into his hands and he looked down to see a silver cellphone Ra's was handing him. He held the flip phone closer to his face seeing something on the small screen. He briefly looked up when he saw Ra's move out of the corner of his eye, and looked down to see him press a button on the phone, and Bruce heard the low static sound of a video. He watched the small screen wondering what Ra's was showing him. He could barely make out the metal legs of a table and what looked to be small pools of blood on a gray floor when he heard an ear piercing scream and something banging on metal. His eyes widened when he realized what it was he was seeing. The person taking the video moved the phone and Bruce saw an arm in a restraint as the person struggled against it, all the while screaming that horrible scream. He could see dried blood on the hand and arm as well as fresh blood from the wounded wrists from continuous rubbing against the restraints. Bruce could feel his heart race as he watched praying it wasn't what he thought, listening to the terrified screams. "Bruce." His heart dropped when he heard his name, and then the camera moved again. Bruce saw his sister struggling, writhing on the table screaming for him. "Help me." Tears burned in the back of his throat hearing her absolute horror. Her neck was arched and her head was thrown back as a scream tore through her. He almost gasped when her scream abruptly stopped. He looked down at the phone in his hand and realized the video had stopped.

"If you had only heeded my warning before, losing her would not have hurt you this much." Bruce felt pure loathing flood through his body at the sound of Ra's's voice. "You would have excepted it for what it was – a casualty. You have no illusions about the world, Bruce," Ra's said. "When I found you in that jail you were lost. But I believed in you. I took away your fear and showed you a path. You were my greatest student. It should be you standing by my side, saving the world."  
"I'll be standing where I belong. Between you and the people of Gotham," Bruce said his voice laced with finality.  
"No one can save Gotham," Ra's said maliciously. He looked past Bruce and gave a short nod, and Bruce turned at the sound of something being broken and saw the men from the League of Shadows tearing things apart. "When a forest grows too wild a purging fire is inevitable and natural. Tomorrow, the world will watch in horror as its greatest city destroys itself. The movement back to harmony will be unstoppable this time." Bruce smelt gasoline, and then fire.  
"You've attacked Gotham before?" Bruce asked surprised. The crackling of flames reached his ears as Ra's answered.  
"Of course. Over the ages our weapons have grown more sophisticated. With Gothan we tried a new one: economics. But we underestimated certain of Gotham's citizens - such as your parents." Bruce felt anger surge through him and he could neither control it nor did he want to. "Gunned down by one of the very people they were trying to help. Create enough hunger and everyone becomes a criminal," Ra's said moving around Bruce causing him to turn to face his old mentor. "Their deaths galvanized the city into saving itself and Gotham has limped on ever since. We are back to finish the job. And this time no misguided idealists will get in the way. Like your father you lack the courage to do all that is necessary. If someone stands in the way of true justice, you simply walk up behind them... and stab them in the heart."

Bruce would have expected Ra's to have been behind him to stab in the back, so Bruce turned as a man from the League descended from the rafters. Bruce struck the man on the base of the skull and pivoted seeing Ra's had pulled a thin blade from his cane. As Ra's made to raise the blade Bruce swung his arm underneath it pushing it away, and held Ra's's arm. "I am gonna stop you," Bruce said face to face with Ra's.

"You never did learn to mind your surroundings," Ra's said shoving Bruce away from him. Bruce barely had time to bring his up to cover his head as a beam fell from the ceiling on top of him.

Ra's looked down at his unconscious, trapped student. "Justice is balance. You burned my house and left me for dead. Consider us even," Ra's said though he did not happy, turning as he and his men left. He pulled out his cellphone and dialed the number of his second. "How is she?"

"She's withering, I'm about to give her another repressant."

"No, leave her be," Ra's said slowly thinking of the young girl. "It is time."

* * *

Gordon stalked out of the room Jonathan Crane was being held in. The doctor had been muttering about a scarecrow before looking at Jim with clarity in eyes before telling him it was too late. Gordon stepped out of the asylum breathing in the filthy smell of the Narrows; He had needed air to think, to plan. There was a fear toxin in the water supply but he had no idea how it was supposed to get into the air, but knowing that it would causing all of Gotham to be consumed with fear. And on top of that nothing had been found as to Evangeline's whereabouts. In the threat of the impending chaos it seemed that Evangeline was truly lost.

Gordon walked to the bay needing more time away from the darkness of the asylum. He passed apartment buildings and stores as well as a few abandoned buildings, all of which had been used and abused to the point of crumbling. A few of the people who lived there were milling about on the streets, casting suspicious looks towards Gordon in his uniform. Gordon held the cold railing as he stared at the water, breathing in; trying to find some clean air that didn't reek of the stench of filth. He barely noticed the people taking second looks at him as his mind wandered with what they were supposed to do to protect Gotham from what was coming. He heard bits of conversations but none that stuck out to him. "... it's this weird wailing. I don't always hear it. I'll hear it for a few minutes and then it'll stop. It's been going on for a couple days." Gordon felt his spine straighten as he strained to listen.

"Where've you been hearin' it?" a woman asked. Gordon barely shifted his head so he could see who was talking without them knowing he was listening, and saw two women walking along the walkway beside the bay.

"I've been hearing it in that old building by my place. I was thinking about checking it out but the noise stopped and I forgot about it. I just heard it again a few hours ago."

Gordon felt his heart start to beat faster at the possibility. He had tried looking for her everywhere else, maybe Evan had been here, near Crane, the whole time. "Excuse me," Gordon said turning from the water to face the two women. They turned hesitantly at his masculine voice but he noticed the slight relaxation of their shoulders when they noticed his police uniform. "Where did you say you heard the noise?" he asked walking a step closer and stopping a few feet away from them giving them a safe distance.

The woman whose voice he'd first heard voice looked at the line of buildings before pointing to a small rectangular one with lights shining at the top. "That's my building, the one where I heard it was on the right." The building she pointed to was one he knew hadn't been used in years. He thanked the two women and kept his pace brisk as he moved closer to the old building the woman had pointed to. He could see it was within walking distance from the asylum, and saw the chipped walls. It looked cold and worn down, the kind of place you'd keep a girl to torture her. Gordon shook his head to clear the thoughts of someone hurting Evan as he got closer to the building. He walked up the steps to the front door and pushed the door open seeing that the lock was broken. He edged through the main hall keeping his steps light trying to keep from making noise. Dust had settled over the walls and floor, but he could tell that someone had been coming and going through the front door by the disturbance of the grime on the floor. He looked in front of him and saw the hall went on with old doorways, and to his left he saw the small rectangle sign with the symbol for stairs. Gordon figured Evangeline would have been kept below ground to keep outsiders from hearing her screams. He felt a surge of guilt at how grateful he was that she'd screamed loud enough for someone to hear.

He edged his way closer to the door leading to the stairs and turned the knob slowly pushing it open, wincing at the small creak it produced. He stood still for a few minutes listening for a sign that someone had heard him, and then a few moments longer to let the noise he'd made settle. He inched down the stairs towards the door leading to the basement and sighed in relief when he saw he only had to push the door to get it to open. He pushed the door open far enough for his body to squeeze through and grabbed the door to edge it closed. He heard a small sound he couldn't put a name to coming from down the hall. He faced the dim hall not seeing much else but four closed doors. He made his steps as light as he could listening for the small noise, praying it would lead him Evan. He found the source of the noise behind the last door on the right and he took a small breath before throwing the door. He saw a man with red hair standing over the body of someone with a cloud of long black hair. All hesitation left when he saw the dark hair, and he drew his gun aiming it at the man who was reaching for the gun in the waistband of his pants, and pulled the trigger. Gordon's aim had been true and a dark red spot spilled on the man's chest as he fell to the floor. Gordon looked down to see Evan convulsing on the table, and saw that her arms were restrained and her fists were clenched. The noise he'd been hearing was her body's violent movements against the metal. Her eyelids fluttered as her eyes rolled to the back of her head, and he could hear her wheezing as she tried to breathe. He looked around the room noting a canister and a breathing mask, his eyes landing on the now dead man. He knelt beside the body and started going through his jacket pockets praying there was something in them. He pulled his hand back when his felt a sharp pain in his index finger, and he gently pulled out the object seeing it was a needle. He went through the other pockets finding a vial of clear liquid, in which he inserted the needle. He hesitated wondering if this would help her, or if it would make everything worse. He injected the substance in her arm knowing the toxin needed to be inhaled. He watched as her body's spasms subsided and her breathing become deep and even.

He stared down at her sleeping face seeing how pale she was, and that she was still in her uniform from work. He smoothed the hair away from her face before he undid the restraints. He paused when he saw her arm covered in blood, and gently freed her wrists wincing as the previously scabbed wounds opened. He did the same to her other wrist, which was in the same condition, before freeing her chaffed ankles. He stood to her left and threw her arm over his right shoulder placing one hand around her back and the other under her knees. As he lifted her, her head fell back against his shoulder and her arm dangled behind him. He kicked open the door to the stairs and slowly made his way up them. He could feel the sweat on his back from the stiff warm air of the long forgotten building and breathed deeply when he came out of the front door. He was on the side walk wondering where to take her when he felt awareness come back to her body. He knelt to the ground as she started moving, afraid he would drop her, and saw her wide green eyes staring at him in fear. The gravel dug painfully into his knees as he knelt down, lowering her to the ground in a sitting position. He heard a whimper in the back of her throat as her eyes welled with tears, and he felt his heart break.  
"Please don't hurt me," she begged him and tears knotted in his throat.

"It's me, Evan. Jim Gordon. You know me," he said moving the hand from under her knees to stroke the hair out of her face.

"Mr. Gordon?" she asked breathing heavily, still afraid. But he saw the moment she recognized him and the tears slipped from her eyes. "Don't leave me," she whispered as her eyes started fluttering towards unconsciousness. He held her head under his chin promising her he wouldn't. He looked up at the sound of someone coming closer and saw the two women from before walking back to their apartments.

"Did you find the noise?" one asked. She stopped when she saw the body in Gordon's arms. "Is that," she said gasping. "It's the Wayne girl, oh you found her."

"Thank you for your help," Gordon said before standing again, with Evan in his arms. "What's your name?" he asked the woman who'd told him where the building was.

"Charlotte Potter."

"I'll tell her you how you helped save her," Gordon said nodding to the two women before turning to the direction of the asylum. They were too far from the hospital, and he figured the nurses would have something to give her, besides that being the place he was supposed to be in.

The nurses fluttered around Evangeline after Gordon had brought her in and he called his superior to report his shooting of the man who'd been with her. Gordon was given a chair and he sat beside her as she laid in the bed. He gently ran his fingers over the bandages on her wrists; she was in a white shirt and blue pants that the asylum had on hand, and an iv was in her arm. The nurse had explained that it would help with Evan's dehydration since it'd been three days since she had food or water. After an hour the drip had emptied and the nurse removed the iv. He held Evan's hand as he thought about what would happen next, and whether they would be able to save Gotham. His mind came back to the present when he felt the smaller hand in his start twitching, and he looked to her face to see her eyes staring at the ceiling.

Evan didn't know how long she'd been staring at the plain white ceiling before she registered that she was awake. She blinked a few times before looking around, her eyes finding the corner of the room.

_Black vines crept out of the wall stretching closer to her. Wanting to consume her._

"It's okay, you're safe now." She heard from beside her. She turned to see the familiar face of Mr. Gordon and settled back against the pillows. She wanted to curl up into a ball and never move again. Her stomach was clenched and it felt as though it had shriveled up into nothing.

_Bugs had been crawling beneath her skin. Maybe there was nothing left of her and this was all a dream._

Gordon watched her brows knit together in pain and saw her place a shaking hand on her stomach. "Come on, I'll take you to the kitchen. You haven't eaten in days."

Gordon sat bemused watching Evan eat her second plate of food and her fifth roll. She paused from eating only to gulp down her third glass of water, and then resumed inhaling her food. She felt his eyes on her and he watched a blush creep over cheeks as she sat up and tried not to shovel her corn into her mouth. He watched her eyes widen in fear at something behind him, but she relaxed moments later and resumed eating. She had been seeing things off and on since she'd woken up; she said they were small little flashes, like explosions, of darkness and everything else that scared her. But they would fade away and she'd breathe normally again. He wondered briefly if she would always see them, and sighed trying not to look at the bandages around her wrists, the wounds the nurse had said would leave scars. It wasn't those scars Gordon was worried about, it was the ones inside of her. The scars he couldn't see, the ones only she knew.

He took her back to the nurses wing where he was given a cold cup of coffee in a chipped mug. A nurse had found an old gray sweater for Evan and it nearly swallowed her small frame. He sipped the bitter liquid calling Flass again, and still receiving no answer. He felt eyes on him and looked up to see Evan standing looking at him. "I have to use the bathroom," she said quietly.

He chuckled before he realized why she was telling him; she didn't want to leave him. He stood motioning for her to follow and he found a nurse who pointed to the bathroom at the end of the hall. Gordon leaned against the wall outside of the door listening to the sound of the water running. He smirked when he heard her turn the faucet on so he wouldn't hear her. He heard the water turn off and saw her open the door with a paper towel before throwing it in the trash and coming out.

"Are you alright?" he asked noticing the crease of her brows.

"Yeah, I got water," she trailed off raising her bandaged wrists and he nodded. He placed a hand on her back and lead her to the nurses station where he called Flass again. He sat down at the table with the window to the main entrance to his right, and the window to where the inmates cells were on his left. Evan sat down across from him fiddling with the hem of the sweater's sleeves.

They both jumped startled by the sound of the explosion, and Gordon stood reaching for Evan pulling her to him. He looked to his left and saw a gap in the wall by the window where many orange clad inmates were now escaping. Gordon looked down the young girl in his arms and gently squeezed her arms before telling her to stay close. With the way the building was set up Gordon had to go around a cell block before he made it to the yard. By that time nearly all of the prisoners were outside and he could see their orange suits as they moved through the streets of Gotham knowing he could shoot them down, but not having the stomach to do so. He looked behind him seeing that Evan was still there and pulled out his cell phone to call headquarters.


	10. Never Let Me Go

Evan stood behind Mr. Gordon, pressed tight against his back. So tight she could feel every time he took a breath. She had cast wary glances at Flass after he'd arrived; he was a big man with a mop of curly hair, who didn't look very friendly. "Until I get her with someone I trust she stays with me," Gordon had said to Flass's snarky comment about why she was there. They moved through the Narrows searching for the escaped inmates, finding a few, only to go back out and look for more.

_Several faces with forked tongues and black eyes stared fixedly at her waiting to grab her. She could feel their stares burning holes in her skin._ And then she blinked and saw what they actually looked like; normal human beings. She sighed leaning against Gordon before seeing a flash of orange in front of her.

Gordon turned back to look at her when she tapped his shoulder, and he looked to where she was pointing to see an orange jumpsuit. "Keep your light on him," Flass said noticing the inmate. Gordon stood pointing the flashlight's beam at the escapee while Flass tackled him to the ground.

"Harassment, I see harassment," someone yelled from a backyard.

Flass pointed his gun at the nosy neighbor. "Wanna see excess force?"

Gordon stood the inmate on his feet and cuffed him The inmate began to whimper, and Evan took a step away from him when she met his crazed eyes. "Flass, cool it!" Gordon yelled to his partner who was still pointing his gun at the civilian. A uniformed officer took the handcuffed criminal and Gordon looked back to see where Evan had gone to. He reached out his hand and pulled her to him; offering her comfort in his familiar embrace.

"Hey Gordon," one of the uniforms shouted, "someone here to see you." Both Evan and Gordon turned to see who it was and they saw Rachel Dawes walking quickly towards them. Rachel stopped, shocked, before nearly running with her arms open. "Evan," she said with a relieved smile on her face. Evan ran into her arms and breathed in the smell of the young woman who had helped Alfred raise her.

Gordon smiled softly, glad there was someone he could trust to leave Evan with so he could get her away from this. "What are you doing here?"

"Our mutual friend sent me with this." She grabbed the two vials Batman had given her from her purse. "They counteract Crane's toxin. One is for you, the other is to start mass production in case things get worse," she said handing them to Gordon. "Hopefully you won't need them."

"I won't. Not unless they have some way of getting that crap into the air. Okay, Ms. Dawes, thanks. Take Evan and both of you get off the island before they raise the bridges," Gordon said grabbing a patrolman and pushing the two girls with him, knowing the bridge would be raised soon, and hoping they wouldn't be trapped here when that happened.

Rachel had her arm wrapped around Evan's shoulder as they followed after the officer.

_Blackness seeped out of every shadow stretching it's grimy fingers to grab her. She felt a hand squeeze her shoulder and gasped, readying a scream in her throat._

"Evan," Rachel said stopping and gripping her shoulders. She saw the fear in Evan's green eyes and remembered the flashes of fear she herself had gotten after she'd woken up. Rachel watched as the fear dissipated and her eyes cleared. "You're alright, it's gonna be okay." She wrapped her arms around the young girl she considered family and looked for the officer seeing he was gone, not having realized they'd stopped.

"I'm okay, it only happens for a second," Evan said giving Rachel a small smile before looking around them. Rachel kept an arm around Evan's back as she walked in the direction she thought was to the bridge. Evan walked on Rachel's left looking at the alleyways they were passing in case someone were to jump out and grab them; she knew she was being paranoid, but after getting kidnapped she wasn't taking that chance again. She looked down one way and saw several S.W.A.T guys waiting, and a familiar dark head tap on one of their shoulders. She walked towards him and saw one of the guys shove him away, nearly taking him off his feet.

"John," Evan said causing the boy to turn to look at her, shock ingrained in his face, before she saw what looked to be relief in his dark eyes.

"Hey," she heard Rachel yell from behind her. Evan turned thinking Rachel was talking to her but saw Rachel's angry blue eyes turned on the S.W.A.T guy who'd pushed John. Rachel grabbed John's arm and nudged him behind her towards Evan, and he turned to look at Evan.

John could see dark purple bags under Evan's eyes, looking as though she were bruised. And noticed the white bandages around her wrists. But looking at her standing next to him, seeing she was okay, he didn't think she'd ever looked more beautiful. He turned at the sound of a vehicle coming to a stop near them and looked to see a tall man with a graying goatee step out. He heard Evan's breathing hitch and looked to see her green eyes wide with fear as she cowered next to him.

Evan saw the man who'd helped kidnap her step from the armored car and prayed he wouldn't see her.

_Bugs were falling on her from a man wearing a mask. He looked like a demon with a scarecrow face as he stood over her laughing. She could feel thousands of legs crawling all over her as they burrowed their way beneath her skin, eating her alive._

Evan blinked when she felt someone intertwining their hand with hers. She looked up to see John looking at her; he squeezed her hand before looking back to the van. She felt a hand on her back and looked over to see Rachel who was watching the man as well. Only Evan knew he was the one who had kidnapped her, but they all knew he was planning to do something horrible to the citizens of Gotham.

Ra's stepped out of the vehicle after it arrived in the slum. He saw men from the League of Shadow and smiled at them, but his smile dropped when his eyes landed on the pretty young girl who's mind should have been destroyed; but there she was, in perfect health. Her eyes were filled with fear, but he knew her fear was natural rather than fear induced. He thought of Bruce laying under the beam in his burning house, and then of what he was about to unleash and knew it was still too late for the girl. "Time to spread the word," he said. "and the word is panic." He pressed a button beginning the destruction of Gotham.

Rachel heard the harsh buzzing the machine made, almost like a chain saw grinding through metal, and pulled Evan, who was facing away from her, to her chest and wrapped an arm around both of the shaking teens. She bent them down trying to make them as small of targets as she could, when a thick gaseous mist filled the air, and the smell of vinegar entered her nose. Rachel remembered the smell from when Crane sprayed her with it, and took a moment to see that she wasn't seeing any strange visions. She was glad to know the antidote had worked, but her happiness was short lived when she felt tremors run up the young boy's spine. The sounds of explosions and screaming filled her ears and she held them both tighter looking around for any signs of danger.

Evan felt John squeeze her hand and she looked at him seeing his face white with fear. His breathing was ragged and his pupils were dilated. "John," she whispered and he turned to her with wide eyes.

"Evan?" he asked with a whimper. She didn't know what she looked like to him but she could imagine how horrifying it was. She covered his eyes with her free hand so he wouldn't be afraid her. "It's okay, it's me."

"What," was all he managed to ask. He turned his face away from the cover of her hand and she could see that whatever he was seeing was scaring him.

Rachel felt the boy's entire body start shaking, heaven only knew what he was seeing. She tried to comfort him as she wrapped her arms around both the scared boy and Evan, who the boy was holding onto. Rachel noticed that the toxin wasn't effecting Evan, and knew that Gordon hadn't given her the antidote. Rachel supposed that whoever had taken Evan had given her something, until she saw Evan's eyes widen. "Hey, it's okay it's okay," she said to both of them. "No one's gonna hurt you."

"Of course they are." Rachel heard from behind her along with the sound of horse's feet. She turned to see Crane wearing his mask on top of a horse, with a dead officer dragging from the stirrup. "Not Crane," he said in response to her question, holding up a finger. "Scarecrow."

Rachel wouldn't have noticed that the after effects of the drugs had worn off of Evan, due to the fear she felt as looked up at Dr. Crane. Rachel grabbed both teens and pushed them as they started running from the crazed doctor on the horse. The mist was still hanging in the air like fog and the three ran blindly only hearing the clopping of the horses hooves behind them. The young boy had stumbled over something and Rachel nearly lost her hold on Evan.

Evan had wrapped her arm around John's shoulders as he held her other hand and she could hear his whimpers and see his tears, knowing how terrifying the world looked to him now. Evan felt Rachel's grip on her tighten as they continued running. Evan barely had time to stop running, and hold John tighter so he would stop too, so they wouldn't crash into the front gate of an apartment complex. She felt her hip hit hard against the gate as John ran into her. She kept her arm around John as he coward against her, and felt Rachel's arms cocoon them both. Evan moved John so that he was almost behind her, and Rachel had put herself in front of both of them as the two girls looked at Crane.

_The voice was loud and rough, like it was scratching in his ear. The horse's eyes were glowing red and fire was spewing from it's mouth as it roared. John buried his head against someone's chest trying not to see._

Evan felt John's tears against her skin and she held on to him tighter.

"There's nothing to fear but fear itself," Crane said reining his horse in front of them. "Let me help you," Evan jumped when she heard the crackle of sparks from the tazer Rachel shot at him. He laid back in the saddle screaming and moaning in pain as the horse ran away with him on top of it.

Rachel nudged the two teens into a standing position and herded them away from the oncoming orange clad inmates. Rachel pulled on Evan's arm, who was starting to lag behind, and looked for somewhere to go. The mist was still hanging over the city and she couldn't see much, but she had one hand holding the shaking boy and the other dragging a weary Evan behind her.

Evan felt as though her feet were stuck on the ground, and it took all of her strength to pick them up and move forward. Black spots danced around her vision as Rachel pulled her onward, but she knew she was slowing her and John down. She felt Rachel stumble over something and looked down to see a dead officer before they passed him, only to find themselves at a dead end.

Rachel had John against her chest and her hands around Evan's back as she thought of something to do. She watched the shapes in the mist start to clear and noticed a few of the inmates. Some of them were giggling, but one was holding a knife as he crept closer.

"Batman will save us," John whispered in Evan's ear. "He'll come." Rachel released the teens and grabbed the dead policeman's gun and took the safety off before wrapping an arm around the trembling boy and Evan. "Don't look," she said with her finger on the trigger.

A black shape shot down from above kicking the inmate with the knife, before wrapping around the three and shooting back up towards the rooftops. Batman stood on the ledge lowering them to the roof, and John and Evan slumped to the ground; though it was Evan who couldn't stand anymore. The world was a blur and she couldn't make out the features on John's face anymore, and who she knew to be her brother as Batman was only a black smudge against the clouded skyline. Rachel took her jacket off and put it around the boy's shoulders, stroking his hair as he looked wildly about breathing heavily. She could hear the sounds of screams and moans from below, Rachel thought it was the moans that were worse.

"I told you he'd come," he said to Evan who's head was slumped against his shoulder. Rachel looked towards Batman and saw him holding something in his hand as he stepped closer.

Bruce had saved one vial for Evan in the hopes of administering it to her whenever he found her. He had found Gordon to give him the tumbler, when Gordon told him that Evan had been found and she was safe with Rachel. He had been on the rooftops above them as they ran and watched as his sister withered, still under the effects of the drug.

Evan felt a sharp pinch in her arm and looked up to see her brother's concerned eyes, feeling a gloved hand brush across her cheek. She blinked a few times, feeling as though she were blinking the sleep from her eyes as her head cleared. "Antidote," she heard the deep, gravelly voice say in explanation to Rachel's questioning look. "Whatever they gave her, it numbed the effects. It was still eating away her mind."

Rachel nodded before smoothing Evan's hair behind her ears. When she looked up Batman was on the ledge again about to leave.

"You could die," Rachel said causing him to turn. "At least tell me your name."

Batman turned, hesitated, turned back to Rachel. "It's not who I am underneath," he said seeing something spark in Rachel's head. "But what I do that defines me."

"Bruce." Of course. It had to be him. He leaped from the building and glided past the terrified civilians beneath. And their screams rang clear as a bell as he moved past. Rachel turned back to the kids and saw John with his head in the crook of Evan's neck, and Evan's arms wrapped around his shoulders as she rocked him back and forth. Evan looked up at Rachel and gave her a soft smile, and Rachel laughed lightly as she realized Evan already knew.

Evan listened to the sounds of screams as they echoed through the streets, trying to cover John's ears as he buried his head in the crook of her neck. She watched as Rachel starting looking at the floor, well the roof, and helped John stand when Rachel found a door leading inside the building. He leaned his weight on her smaller frame, nearly making her fall over, and she and Rachel led him down the stairs and through the old tenement that smelled of cooking odors and other less pleasant smells.

The apartments were deserted; several doors were open and one had been torn from its hinges. The occupants might return, and should that happen they would be crazy when they did. So Evan and Rachel helped maneuver John down more stairs until they found the basement. When they found the door to the basement they went through and Rachel released her hold on John to bar the door, and Evan stood looking for a place for them sit. The floor was wet, and Evan could feel it through the slippers the nurse at Arkham had given her, but she found a counter in the back of the basement and slowly led John towards it. Evan could hear Rachel moving around and scattering things looking for something to block the door, and she nearly screamed when she felt something hit her face. She felt John wrap his arms around her after she gasped, and she raised her hand to feel what it was. She felt a string in her hand and pulled it, illuminating the dirty room with a yellow light. She helped John, who was looking around him with wide eyes, onto the counter and hopped up beside him. He curled his legs up and laid his head on her chest; he was no longer trembling, but every few minutes he would gasp and she would hold him tighter. _If only we could get through the night._

Rachel eventually found a crowbar and wedged it in the door handle, before she made her way towards the counter Evan had taken the boy to. Rachel sat next to Evan and held her, running her hands through her hair. Once, Rachel had dreamed of doing grand deeds, of making the world a better place and gaining renown in the process. Now, all she wanted was to save the girl she was holding and the terrified boy who was laying on her. _If only we could get through the night. If only those lunatics don't find us..._

It was over an hour later, over an hour of sitting scared someone was going to attack them or John was going to get worse, over an hour of listening to muffled screams as they reverberated off of the apartment's walls. Over an hour Evan held John while Rachel held her, over an hour Rachel held Evan grateful she was okay yet hoping she could protect Evan long enough for the young girl to actually be saved. Over an hour later and both girls jumped in fear when they heard someone try to get in the basement door. Rachel let go of Evan and scoped the room for a weapon when she heard a familiar pleasant baritone. She tossed the crow bar aside as she threw open the door to see Gordon standing on the other side.

"I have the antidote for Evan," he said breathing heavily.

"Batman gave it to her, but we have a boy who needs it."

Gordon moved into the dimly lit room and saw the dark haired, sullen boy with wide brown eyes. He injected the antidote into the kid's arm and helped Evan get him on his feet. "We're gonna get to my car and then take you both to the hospital. I've already called it in and they're waiting to treat you." Evan nodded and helped Mr. Gordon get a drooping John up the stairs and to the car. Mr. Gordon drove them across the bridge, through the line of guards, with Rachel in the front and Evan leaning on a now alert John. Her eyes closed heavily as exhaustion, and hunger, and dehydration settled over her. She let the beat of John's heart lull her to sleep as they drove towards the hospital.

Evan vaguely remembered the white of the walls, and the loud beeping in her ear. She felt like she had a bug bite on her arm but her hand was pulled away when she tried to scratch it. She drifted on the waves of consciousness, looking at the sky which was sometimes painted white and sometimes dotted black. Muffled voices circled over her head, and she felt someone take her hand. John's face flickered across her mind, and then her brother's masked face, and Rachel's, then Gordon's and Alfred's.

The last face she saw before she started sinking beneath the waves was Dr. Jonathan Crane. The Crane she remembered before he'd become the Scarecrow, the one who had acted like he cared. The one she had been fooled by, and hurt because of.

She stared up at the unfamiliar shapes on the ceiling, realizing she wasn't home. She swallowed and it felt like sandpaper rubbing her throat, and her eyes felt like she had pushed too hard on them.

"Good afternoon, Miss Wayne." She heard a familiar accented voice, and looked to her left to see Alfred sitting in a chair smiling at her. The actual last thing she remembered was Mr. Gordon driving her and John to the hospital, and now she was in a bed. She heard movement at the door and saw her brother holding a glass of water. She reached for the glass and noticed the bandages around her wrists, before she took a sip of the water. She felt the cool liquid go down her throat and into her stomach, and she settled back on the bed.

"Well, I'll leave you two to it then," Alfred said before kissing the top of her head and leaving the room.

Bruce looked down at his sister, seeing how pale her skin was against the white sheets. She had been in the hospital yesterday for observation and they let him take her home that night, though she had slept through most of it. He rented a large property on the outskirts of Gotham while the manor was being rebuilt, but the room she was staying in was made to look exactly like her old one; dark blue walls, white bed, messy desk. He couldn't believe it had only been four days since she'd gone missing; it felt like a lifetime. Her glazed green eyes looked up at and he could almost see the days haunting her behind her eyes. He moved closer and he saw her scoot to the side away from him, something she used to do when she was younger to let him know she wanted him to lay down next to her. He slipped under the sheets and she curled up on his chest as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. He felt her entire body begin to shake as the realization of everything that had happened to her finally dawned on her. He held her tighter as she cried, the only sound was when she would gasp for air before another sob took hold of her. He held her close swearing he would never let her go, thankful to have her back again though he could tell she was not in one piece.

* * *

_I am so sorry for how long this took. I started a few new stories and completely forgot to upload this. I may add a little more to the end of this, about how she gets better after what happened, but that may not be for a while. Again I am so sorry for taking so long, and thank you all for reading.  
_


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